Earth & Space Science

Half-Life Property of a Radioactive Element

Introduction

Radioisotopes are radioactive forms of otherwise stable elements, and are used in fields such as geology,
medicine, and agriculture. Some elements, such as uranium, radium, and carbon have naturally occurring
radioisotopes; however, the majority of radioisotopes are produced artificially by nuclear reactors and nuclear
accelerators.

The study of radioisotopes was begun in the late 1800’s by Antoine Becquerel and continued by his student
Marie Curie. They were investigating the penetrating radiation associated with uranium. In fact, it was
Madame Curie who coined the term radioactivity to describe the phenomenon that they were studying. Curie
hypothesized that radiation was a function of the individual atoms in the element and later proved this to be
correct.

The next major advance in this field was made by Ernest Rutherford. He furthered the understanding of
radioactivity by proving that all kinds of radiation do not act identically. Rutherford differentiated between two
different types of radiation called alpha and beta rays. He noticed that alpha waves were easily stopped by
paper, metal, foil, clothing and skin, while beta rays were only stopped by metal sheets several millimeters
thick, dense wood, or very thick clothing.

A short time later, a third type of radiation was identified. These were called gamma rays. Gamma rays are able
to penetrate much more deeply than either of the first two types of radiation, and are only stopped by several
centimeters of lead or concrete.

Each radioactive substance that has been identified emits radioactive particles at a different rate. The rate it
takes for one-half of the isotope to decay to another isotope or element is called the half-life. Since all of the
known radioactive elements have their own half-life, this is the measure used in radioactive dating.

Using radioactive dating, scientists can determine the approximate age of a rock or fossil sample by
determining the ratio of the parent element (the unstable isotope) to the stable daughter element. In order to
determine the approximate age of the fossil, they use a radioactive isotope of carbon, C-14. This radioisotope
of carbon combines with oxygen in the upper atmosphere to form carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide then
becomes fixed in the plant tissue through the process of photosynthesis, which in turn becomes a part of the
animals that eat the plants. After the plant or animal dies, the supply of C-14 is no longer renewed through the
normal life processes and begins to decline as a result of the decay of C-14. Approximately 5,700 years after
the death of the organism, half of the total C-14 present in the tissue will have gone through decay to
nitrogen-14.
The following table lists some radioactive elements and their half-lives.

Table 1: Half-Lives for Selected Elements

Isotope Half-Life
9

Uranium-238 4.9 x 109 years

Thorium-234 24.1 days
Protactinium-234 1.18 minutes
Polonium-214 1.64 x 10- -4 seconds
Carbon-14 5.7 x 1034 years
3

Objective

You will observe and record the effects of nuclear decay using a model of uranium-238 and develop a
quantitative model showing radioactive decay of a sample. You will then graph the data obtained during the
lab exercise.

Procedure

1. Open the following link to access the Google doc you will be using as your Data Sheet.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aUB31dKtR_n57SV90PWFtso2V3GtD57glBzoowGBPKA/edit?usp=sharing

2. Once you have the file open, click on file in the menu and then make a copy. Save the copy in your
Earth Science Folder on your Google Drive. Once you do this, you will be able to edit the document.

3. Place all of the red chips in one of the bags provided.

4. Shake the bag and pour its contents onto the flat desktop.

5. Locate all the chips that landed with the sticker (white dot) side up. Replace these chips with blue chips,
which represent the stable isotope Pb-206. Record the number of blue chips in the appropriate space in
Table 1 on your Google Doc. Also record the remaining number of red chips in the appropriate space in
Table 1. (In this instance, the appropriate spaces are the boxes for Trial #1, Shake #1.)
6. Place the remaining red chips plus the blue replacement chips in the bag and repeat steps 4-5 until only
one red chip remains and all others have been replaced with blue chips (this may take anywhere from
between 4-7 shakes.) Be sure to record the total number of blue chips, and the total number of
remaining red chips in the bag for each shake.

7. Repeat this process by starting over for trials 2 and 3. Record your results from each trial in the
appropriate spaces in Table 1.

8. Average your results for each shake of each trial and record the average in Table 2 of your Google Doc.
For example: Take the numbers in the top left box for each trial, add them up and divide by three.
Record your answer in the same box in table 2 for your average. Round your answer to the nearest
tenth.

9. Once you have all of your averages and Table 2 is complete, highlight Table 2 and copy and paste your
data into a Google Sheet. Highlight all of your data in your Google Sheet and click the insert chart icon in
the menu. Make sure you choose a line chart. The numbers shown below are being used as an
example only.

10. Your chart should look something like this.

11. Let’s make our chart look less distorted. Click anywhere on your chart and resize it to look something
like this.

12. Next add the titles to your Y-axis. Highlight your chart and click on the three dots. This will open up
the chart editor.
13. In the chart editor, click “Customize” → “Chart & axis titles” → select “Vertical axis title” from the pull
down menu and type in “# of atoms present” for the title.

14. Finally, double click on the title of your chart and give it a proper name. When you are finished your
chart should look something like this.

15. Copy and paste your chart into the Google doc you created with your data tables.

16. Answer the following questions on your Google doc.

Questions

1. List three common radioactive isotopes found in nature.

2. What scientist coined the term “radioactivity”?

3. How many types of radiation rays are there? List the names for these rays.

4. In your model for radioactive decay, what do the following items represent?
a. The red chips?
b. The blue chips?
c. The bag?
d. Each shake?

5. Approximately what percentage of red atoms was removed and replaced after each shake?

6. What was the average number of shakes required to produce a single red atom?

7. If the bag represents a rock that originally contained 100 atoms of U-238, calculate the age of the rock
when 1 atom of U-238 remains, based on your average results. Show your calculations. (HINT: Refer to
the half-life table at the beginning of your handout.)

8. If the bag represents bone which contained 100 atoms of C-14 at the time of the organism ’s death,
calculate the age of the bone when 1 atom of C-14 remains, based on your average results. Show your
calculations.

9. Using your graph as a reference, determine between which time intervals (shake numbers) there was
the greatest decrease in parent element and the greatest increase in daughter element. Explain your
answer.

10. Explain why carbon-14 is not used to determine the absolute age of fossils more than about 75,000
years old.

Make sure you have all of your data tables, graph and questions answered on the same Google doc. Save the
doc as a pdf and submit it in the proper turn-in on Schoology.