Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________

Half-life
Radioactive Half-life

The objectives of this experiment is to Investigate the decay of a radioactive substance. The half-life and the
number of radioactive atoms can be adjusted, and theoretical or random decay can be observed. Data can be
interpreted visually using a dynamic graph, a bar chart, and a table. Determine the half-lives of two sample
isotopes as well as samples with randomly generated half-lives.

Procedure:
Vocabulary: daughter atom, decay, Geiger counter, half-life, isotope, neutron, radiation,
radioactive, radiometric dating

Activity:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:  Click Reset ( ). Be sure that User chooses half-
life and Random decay are selected.
Decay curves
 Check that the Half-life is 20 seconds and the
Number of atoms is 128.

Question: How do we measure the rate of radioactive decay?

1. Experiment: Click Reset, and select the GRAPH tab. Run a simulation with the Half-life set
to 5 seconds and another simulation with the Half-life set to 35 seconds. Sketch each
resulting decay curve graph in the spaces below.

Half- life = 5
seconds
Half-life = 35 seconds

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2. Interpret: How does the Half-life setting affect how quickly the simulated substance decays?

The greater the Half-Life, The more seconds it takes for the radioactive atoms to become
(Daughter Atoms ), On the other hand, The lower the half-life time, The faster something decays.

3. Collect data: Click Reset. Change the Half-life to 10 seconds and click Play. Select the
TABLE tab and record the number of radioactive atoms at each given time below.

0 s: 128 10 s: 103 20 s: 88 30 s: 76 40 s: 65 50 s: 53

4. Revise and repeat: Use your data from #4 above to fill in the first line of the data table
below. Then repeat the experiment four more times. Calculate the average number of
radioactive atoms for each time.

Trial 0s 10 s 20 s 30 s 40 s 50 s
1 128 102 86 69 54 48
2 128 107 93 82 67 62
3 128 102 85 63 54 45
4 128 106 89 72 59 49
5 128 105 91 69 56 47
Averages: 128 104.4 88.8 71 58 50.2

5. Analyze: A half-life is defined as the amount of time it takes for half of the radioactive
particles to decay. For the simulated substance, every 10 seconds represents one half-life.

How does your data demonstrate the definition of a half-life? _________________________

- In the data I collected if you start from the beginning, The starting number almost divided
in half from the 0s to 10s, and its the same for all the other trials, So it shows the half-life
in each trial.
6. Revise and repeat: Click Reset. Real radioactive samples will contain billions of radioactive
atoms. To model the decay of a large sample, change from Random decay to Theoretical
decay on the SIMULATION pane. Click Play and record the numbers of radioactive atoms:

0 s: 128 10 s: 105 20 s: 86 30 s: 71 40 s: 58 50 s: 48

How does this data demonstrate the meaning of half-life?

- For every 10 ( Seconds ) the number before it divides in half.

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity B:
 Click Reset.
Measuring half-
 Select Isotope A from the left drop-down menu.
life
 Check that Theoretical decay is selected.

Introduction: Different isotopes of the same element have the same number of protons but
different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus. Some isotopes are radioactive.

Question: How do we find the half-life of a radioactive isotope?

1. Observe: Select the GRAPH tab, and click Play. Based on the graph, what is your estimate

of the half-life of isotope A?

I would say that (50), is a close estimate

2. Measure: Turn on the Half-life probe. Use the probe to measure how long it takes for
exactly one-half of the original radioactive atoms to decay.

- What is the exact half-life of isotope A? It’s difficult to say for sure but, I would say
(30 ).

3. Collect data: In the first row of the table below, write how many seconds represent one half-
life, two half-lives, and so forth. On the next row, predict the number of radioactive atoms
that will be present at each time. Then use the probe to find the actual values.

Half-life 0 1 2 3 4 5

Time (seconds) 0 31 62 93 123 124

Predicted #
128 62 31 16 8 4
radioactive atoms
Actual #
128 64 32 16 8 4
radioactive atoms

4. Calculate: Calculate the percentage of radioactive atoms that are left after each half-life.

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 Half-life 0 1 2 3 4 5

Percentage
100% 50% 25% 12.5% 6.25% 3.125%
radioactive atoms

- Apply: Suppose you found a material in which 12.5% of the original radioactive atoms
were present. If the half-life is 47 years, how old is the material?
-
- x - decimal amount remaining, n - number of half-lives.
x = 12.5% = 12.5%/100% = 0.125, n=?

Solution /

(1/2)ⁿ = 0.125 log((1/2)ⁿ) = log(0.125)

n * log(1/2) = log(0.125) n = log(0.125)/log(1/2) =

log(0.125)/log(0.50) = -0.903 / -0.301 = 3

# of half-lives is 3.

n = t/H --------> t = n * H
((( n = 3 )))
((( H = 47 years )))

t = 3 * 47 years = 141 years

5. Extend your thinking: The slow decay of radioactive materials can be used to find the age of
rocks, fossils, and archaeological artifacts. In a process called radiometric dating,
scientists measure the proportions of radioactive atoms and daughter atoms in an object to
determine its age. Carbon-14 is a useful isotope because it is found in wood, ash, bone, and
any other organic materials.

You can use the Half-life Gizmo to model the decay of Carbon-14, which has a half-life of
approximately 6,000 years (actual value is 5,730 years). In the Gizmo, select User chooses
half-life and Theoretical decay. Set the Half-life to 6 seconds (to represent 6,000 years)
and the Number of atoms to 100.

Use the Gizmo to estimate the age of each of the objects below. For these questions, each
second in the Gizmo represents 1,000 years.

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 Description Age (years)

Egyptian papyrus with 63% of its original carbon-14 atoms 3000

Aboriginal charcoal with 22% of its original carbon-14 atoms. 12000

Mayan headdress with 79% of its original carbon-14 atoms 1000

Neanderthal skull with 3% of its original carbon-14 atoms 30000

Discussion :
1. The graph below shows the decay of a radioactive isotope. What is the half-life of the
isotope?

Since the ( Atom’s ) axis is 30,

And the half-Life of 30 is 15,
That means around ( 40 ) seconds,
The material will be around 15 ( Atom’s ).

2- Which of the following is the best definition of half-life for a radioactive substance?

A. Half of the amount of time required for all of the radioactive atoms to decay.
B. The amount of time required for half of the radioactive atoms to decay.
C. The amount of time required for each radioactive atom to decay halfway.
D. All of the above.

3- Suppose 128 radioactive atoms have a half-life of 15 seconds. Approximately how many
radioactive atoms will be left after 60 seconds?

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 - I did 6 trials with the ( Gizmo ) set to 128 atoms and the Half-Life set to ( 15 ) seconds, I
got……..
…..( 10, 6, 8, 6, 4, 10 ) and the average is 7, At 60 seconds at their peak the number of
atoms is 10 and it will De-Crease as the time exceeds 60 seconds.

4- Two scientists are experimenting with pure samples of isotope X, a highly radioactive
substance. The first scientist has a sample with a mass of 20 grams. He measures a half-life of
232 seconds. The second scientist has a sample of the same substance with a mass of 80 grams.
What is the half-life that she is most likely to measure?

The Half-Life of something will be the same.

5- Radioactive isotopes can be used to find the age of rocks, fossils, or other artifacts. Carbon-14
has a half-life of 5,730 years. Suppose a sample of charcoal from a primitive fire pit contains one
eighth of its original amount of carbon-14. How old is the sample?

((( 3 * 5730 ------ > ( 17190 Years ). )))

Note:
After completing the experiment and writing the report, please send it to Ms. Azhen at
azhen.jarjes@uod.ac