Description

Other terms used for this process include: Carbon dating, radiometric dating, and absolute dating.

In this hands-on activity, your middle school or high school students will gain a greater understanding of how to calculate radioactive decay and half-life through the use of candy or pennies.

Students simulate radioactive decay by shaking a box containing candy that began “letter-side-up” and as the candies “decay,” they remove the candies that have flipped to “letter-side-down”. This simulation allows students to predict the “half-life” of their candies.

Students apply data from the activity to create a line graph showing the rate of decay and also are asked follow-up questions to assess understanding of half-life and radioactive dating.

Included in this product:

1. Teacher directions and materials page
2. Student lab worksheet
3. Teacher answer key

Topics addressed in this product include:

• Radioactive dating
• Radioactive decay
• Parent material
• Half-life