Classroom Resources: Nuclear Chemistry
1 – 25 of 42 Classroom Resources
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Radioactive Isotopes, Half Lives, Isotopes | High School
Activity: Isotope Sisters Puzzle Mark as Favorite (4 Favorites)
In this activity, students are given clues about various sister isotopes in order to complete a crossword puzzle. Students will become familiar with isotope names, symbols, and mass numbers as they consider descriptions of the isotopes and information about their uses to solve the puzzle.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Half Lives | High School
Activity: What Can We Learn From Glaciers? Mark as Favorite (6 Favorites)
In this activity, students will learn how scientists study Earth’s atmosphere and climate history through the analysis of ice cores obtained from glaciers. They will then analyze radioisotope data from ice core samples to determine the age of the samples based on the decay of radioactive Kr-81 isotopes. Students will also research other isotopes that can be used to determine ages of different types of samples.
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Isotopes, Atoms, Electrons, Subatomic Particles, Elements, History, Introduction, Review, Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Radioactive Isotopes | Middle School, High School
Activity: What are Isotopes? Video Questions Mark as Favorite (62 Favorites)
In this activity, students will watch a video and answer questions about isotopes. They will learn about the discovery of isotopes, the difference between chemical and nuclear reactions, different kinds of radioactive decay, and some uses of radioactive isotopes.
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Half Lives, Radioactive Isotopes, Radiation | High School
Activity: Simulation Activity: Half-Life Investigation Mark as Favorite (32 Favorites)
In this simulation, students will have the opportunity to investigate the decay of two samples of unstable atoms. Students will interact with the simulation in order to decay the unstable samples resulting in a visual and graphical interpretation of half-life.
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Radiation, Radioactive Isotopes, Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay | High School
Activity: Case Study: The Lung Cancer Mystery Mark as Favorite (39 Favorites)
In this activity, students will analyze a scenario about the sudden spike of lung cancer cases in a specific neighborhood. They will take on the role of an investigative reporter in order to examine important information related to the crisis. The activity will provide students the opportunity to learn about radon gas, radiation and radioactive isotopes. The activity will culminate with the creation of a poster in the form of a public service announcement, where students will focus on the decay of radon and bring awareness to the hazardous radiation that is emitted.
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Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Half Lives, Radiation, Radioactive Isotopes, Isotopes, Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles | High School
Activity: Radiological Applications of Isotopes Mark as Favorite (52 Favorites)
In this lesson, students will apply their knowledge of nuclear notation using trading cards to investigate and discuss the applications of isotopes in the medical field. The conclusion of the activity includes a summative assessment where students must advertise the radiological services using their knowledge of isotopes and their medical applications
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Half Lives | High School
Activity: Nuclear Medicine Half-Lives Mark as Favorite (27 Favorites)
In this activity, students will model two half-life scenarios related to nuclear medicine. Through this activity they will learn how to describe half-lives through explanations, calculations, particulate diagrams, and graphs as well as analyze the benefits of long and short half-lives through the context of nuclear medicine.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Atomic Theory, History, Pros Cons of Nuclear Power, Radiation, Subatomic Particles | Middle School, High School
Activity: Lise Meitner Video Questions Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)
In this activity, students will complete a short series of questions as they watch the Founders of Chemistry video about Lise Meitner. The video tells the story of Lise Meitner, a pioneering female scientist in the field of nuclear chemistry, who was denied a Nobel Prize but has an Element named in her honor.
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Half Lives, Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Radioactive Isotopes | High School
Activity: Graphical Analysis of Nuclear Decay Mark as Favorite (34 Favorites)
In this activity, students analyze a series of graphs and data points to discover a pattern, and realize the meaning of a half-life. During this investigation, students will make connections between the concepts of nuclear decay, radiation and the Law of Conservation of Mass.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Half Lives, Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay | High School
Activity: Nuclide Stability Investigation Mark as Favorite (8 Favorites)
In this activity, students will examine the relationship between the stability of an isotope, its half-life, and the make-up of its nucleus.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Half Lives | High School
Activity: Using Dice to Explore Radioactive Decay Mark as Favorite (32 Favorites)
In this activity, students will use dice to simulate the radioactive “decay” of samples of two different elements with two different half-lives. At the end of the simulation, all the groups will pool their data (by round) and then the class results will be graphed. The graphs will be analyzed to illustrate the process of radioactive decay and to determine the half-life of each element in the fictitious time units of “rounds”.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Pros Cons of Nuclear Power, Atoms, Subatomic Particles, Fission/Fusion | High School
Activity: Fission vs. Fusion Reading Mark as Favorite (52 Favorites)
In this activity, students will annotate an informational text about fission and fusion using the “text-in-the-middle” reading strategy. They will then compare and contrast the two types of nuclear reactions.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Half Lives | High School
Activity: Radioactive Decay and Seafloor Data Mark as Favorite (10 Favorites)
In this activity, students will apply their understanding of radioactive decay to analyze and interpret the meaning of Atlantic seafloor isotope data. Students will then use their results to suggest past changes that have occurred with the seafloor
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Half Lives, Radioactive Isotopes, Radiation, Phase Changes | High School
Activity: Radioactive Dating: The Demise of Frosty Mark as Favorite (35 Favorites)
In this activity students will investigate the idea that carbon dating is based on gathering evidence in the present and extrapolating it to the past. Students will use a simple graph to extrapolate data to its starting point and then pool the data to make a graph that simulates half-life. Students will be introduced to solving mathematical problems that involve half-life.
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Isotopes, Atoms, Subatomic Particles, Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Radioactive Isotopes | High School
Activity: Using Stable Isotopes to Determine Material Origin Mark as Favorite (44 Favorites)
In this lesson, students will review the concept of isotopes and apply the concepts of stability and relative abundance in order to determine the recent travels of a person of interest in a criminal investigation.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Half Lives | High School
Activity: Radioactive Decay and Peat Bogs Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)
In this activity, students will apply their understanding of radioactive decay to establish that radiometric dating (specifically C-14) can be used to reliably determine the age of Earth’s materials.
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Half Lives, Radioactive Isotopes | High School
Activity: Investigating Exponential Decay Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)
In this activity, students will learn about radioactivity, exponential decay, and half-life through two hands-on experiences.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Radiation, Half Lives, Atomic Structure, Subatomic Particles, Model of the Atom, History | Middle School, High School
Activity: Marie Curie Video Questions Mark as Favorite (24 Favorites)
In this activity, students will watch a short video and learn about Marie Curie, her Nobel Prizes, radiation experiments, and discovery of new elements.
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Radiation, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Radiation | Middle School, High School
Lab: The Most Effective Sunscreen Mark as Favorite (27 Favorites)
In this lab, students will research and compare the effectiveness of various SPF levels in sunscreen lotions. The lotion’s ability to block UV (ultraviolet) radiation from the sun will be tested using a UV bead detector.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Radiation | High School, Middle School
Simulation: Radioactive Decay Mark as Favorite (34 Favorites)
In this simulation, students will investigate why radioactive decay occurs, the changes that occur in the nucleus during three common types of decay (alpha, beta, and gamma decay), and what types of materials can be used to protect against each type of radiation. Students will also have a chance to test their understanding of these concepts with a 10-question quiz.
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Physical Change, Chemical Change, Observations, Chemical Change, Radioactive Isotopes | High School
Activity: Physical, Chemical and Nuclear Changes Mark as Favorite (67 Favorites)
In this activity, students will analyze the representation of physical, chemical, and nuclear changes in four ways: submicroscopic (particle diagrams), symbolic (equations), macroscopic (observations), and linguistic (vocabulary words). This self-guided activity is designed to ensure that students internalize fundamental chemistry concepts that will serve as a meaningful basis for future learning about matter and its changes.
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Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Radioactive Isotopes, Graphing | High School
Activity: The Nuclear Decay of Uranium Mark as Favorite (32 Favorites)
In this activity, students will model the Uranium decay series through nuclear equations, graphing, and particulate diagrams.
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Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Radiation, Radioactive Isotopes | Middle School, High School
Activity: Simulation Activity: Radioactive Decay Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)
In this activity, students will use a radioactive decay simulation to investigate why radioactive decay occurs, the changes that occur in the nucleus during three common types of decay (alpha, beta, and gamma decay), and what types of materials can be used to protect against each type of radiation. Students will also have a chance to test their understanding of these concepts with a 10-question quiz.
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Alpha/Beta/Gamma Decay, Radiation, Radioactive Isotopes, Isotopes | High School
Activity: Nuclear Decay Investigation Mark as Favorite (18 Favorites)
In this activity, students will explore different types of radioactive decay using a decay chain. Through modeling and analyzing a decay chain, students will familiarize themselves with different isotopes, and begin to understand how decay affects the nucleus of an atom.
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Half Lives, Radioactive Isotopes, Radiation | High School
Simulation: Half-Life Investigation Mark as Favorite (15 Favorites)
In the March 2017 simulation, students will have the opportunity to investigate the decay of two samples of unstable atoms. Students will interact with the simulation in order to decay the unstable samples resulting in a visual and graphical interpretation of half-life.