Have half of the volunteers (any 6 of the 12) place the polonium colored paper facing out to represent the half of the atoms that transferred into polonium. Have all of the volunteers hold the radon paper out, facing the students. Provide each volunteer with two different colored sheets of paper to represent radon and polonium. Have the student volunteers line up in the front of the room. You can mark the halfway points with string or paper if students need guidance. They will continue this process until they cannot go any farther. Direct each volunteer to walk halfway toward the identifiable location at their designated rate and stop before continuing to the next halfway point between them and the identifiable location. For example, radon has a half-life of 3.8 days, radium has a half-life of 1600 years, and uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Direct each volunteer to move at varying rates (fast, moderate and slow) to represent half-lives of different elements. Have the volunteers stand at a distance from an easily identifiable location (e.g., a wall or the classroom door). Demonstrate the concept of half-life with the class by choosing from the following options:.Have them read the initial statement and form a hypothesis. Provide students with the Half-Life Data Worksheet.How long does it take for unstable (radioactive) atoms to give off energy (radiation) and become stable or do all radioactive atoms lose energy and decay at the same rate? Radioactive elements decay at different rates from fractions of seconds to millions and billions of years.Do radioactive materials always remain unstable (radioactive)? No.Start with a vocabulary activity if students are not familiar with radiation and the terms used in this activity, or provide students with the terms and definitions.12 sheets of colored paper in two different colors – 6 sheets of each color.NOTE: The Half-Life Data Worksheet is double sided. Half-Life Data Worksheet (one per student, pair or group) and Half-Life Data: Teacher Answer Key.The Radioactive Atom: Teacher Background Information.Structure and Properties of MatterĮach italicized document title can be found at the bottom of this page, and is available for printing and distribution. The concepts in this activity can be used to support the following science standard: Discuss the significance of knowing the half-life of radioactive elements.Calculate and chart the half-life of a given sample.Learn about radioactive decay and decay chains.Printable Worksheets and Classroom Aids.
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