National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Nuclear Popcorn
Make your instructional activity on radioactive decay pop with this lab exercise. Using popcorn kernels spread over a tabletop, participants pick up all of those that point toward the back of the room, that is, those that represent...
Curated OER
Atomic Candy
Mmmmm! Radioactive "candium!" Nuclear physics or chemistry classes use M&M'S® to demonstrate the process of radioactive decay. Individuals pour out a bag of candies and record the number that fall M-side-up to represent the...
Curated OER
Get a Half-Life Student Worksheet
Young scientists use a worksheet to help them perform a lab on the decay of a radioactive element. The worksheet serves as both a task guide and a lab sheet for pairs of learners. This activity requires a calculator and has excellent...
Curated OER
Absolute Dating/Radioactive Dating
Students explore radioactive decay. In this radioactive atoms lesson students complete a lab to help them understand the relationship between radioactive atoms vs stable atoms.
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Half Life Lab
Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.
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Radioactivity Experiments
Students study the difference between types of ionizing radiation and how elements are transmuted. They determine that radiation is normal and surrounds us. They calculate the amounts of alpha, beta and gamma radiation emitted from a...
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Demonstrating the Half-Life of a Radioactive Isotope
In this half-life worksheet, students use 100 pennies to simulate radioactive isotopes and half-life. They place the pennies in a box and shake the box. All pennies that turn up tails are removed from the box. They represent the isotopes...
Pace University
Grades 9-12 Earth Science
How has Earth changed over time? Pupils explore the topic in a differentiated instruction unit on the geological time scale. After a pre-assessment to gauge knowledge, class members divide into groups based on their ability levels and...
Curated OER
Radioactive Samples
Students examine the different types of radioactivity. In this radioactive samples lesson students complete a lab activity on radiation and complete a handout.
Curated OER
work in pairs for the activities of this lesson which include researching and identifying butterflies, writing, and a brief oral presentation.
High schoolers explore the concepts of rdioactive decay and dating. They generate a radioactive decay table, use their data to plot a decay graph, develop the concept of half-life, and then use the graph to find the age of a mummified...
Curated OER
M&M Science and Math
A series of math and science activities feature M&M's® as manipulatives to help kids work through equations. The resource includes exercises on finding averages, percent of compositions, moles in chemical reactions, genotypes and...
Rice University
College Physics for AP® Courses
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains...
Curated OER
Half-Life Lab
Students participate in a lab in which they are introduced to carbon-dating. In groups, they use the holes of paper from a hole puncher and determine the rate of retention after shaking coins onto the same area. They record their...
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Lizard Lab
In this detailed and comprehensive multi-day activity, budding evolutionary biologists use real data from lizard populations in the Canary Islands to examine evolution and natural selection.
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Watershed Investigations
Students find maps of the region to show rock formations and soil types and use GIS to compare radon levels. They describe three types of radioactive decay, interpret graphs, and follow steps to develop a nuclear bomb or energy.
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Frosty the Snowman Meets His Demise: An Analogy to Carbon Dating
Learners read and discuss an article about carbon dating, then participate in a hands-on lab to discover how carbon dating works. Students also write a letter to a friend explaining the process, and how archeologists use the process to...
Curated OER
Nuclear Chemistry
Learners write and balance nuclear equations. In this chemistry lesson, students identify materials that block radiation using polymers. They collect and analyze data from the experiment.
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The Nucleus / Nuclear Reactions and Elementary Particles
Students describe how radioactivity relates to alpha and beta particles. Using their properties, they write a descriptive paper about the gamma rays and alpha and beta particles. They calculate q-values and the half-life of a given...
Curated OER
What is the Rock Cycle?
Students investigate the rock cycle. In this geology lesson, students read about the rock cycle on a website and discuss the steps of the rock cycle. Students visit a rock cycle website to complete a quiz. This is the first introductory...
Curated OER
Simulating the Greenhouse Effect in a Terrarium
Students identify what factors effect global warming and how the greenhouse effect occurs. In this environmental lesson students view videos then complete an experiment using a terrarium to observe greenhouse gas.
Curated OER
Radiation In Our World
High schoolers identify the different sources of radiation around us. In this physics lesson, students calculate their estimated radiation exposure per year. They research a current issue about radiation.
Physics Aviary
Physics Aviary: Radioactive Shielding Lab
This lab is designed to allow students to look at the factors that affect the amount of radiation that is absorbed by different shielding materials.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley Lab: Neutron Activation Analysis
A simple explanation of neutron activation of some natural elements in order to create a radioactive nucleus.
Physics Aviary
Physics Aviary: Radiation Detection Lab
This lab is designed to allow students to look at the amount of radiation that is detected at different distances from a radioactive source.