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Absolute Dating/Radioactive Dating
Students explore radioactive decay. In this radioactive atoms lesson students complete a lab to help them understand the relationship between radioactive atoms vs stable atoms.
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Determining the Age of Fossils
Students examine the concept of radioactive dating. In this radioactive dating lesson, students investigate how to determine the ages of fossils and rocks as they learn about half-life radioactive decay.
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Teaching Radioactive Decay: Radioactive Half-life And Dating Techniques
Students generate a radioactive decay table for an imaginary element using a box filled with pinto beans and M&M's. They use their data to plot a decay graph, develop the concept of half-life, and use the graph to "age" several samples.
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Frosty the Snowman Meets His Demise: An Analogy to Carbon Dating
Students read and discuss an article about carbon dating, then participate in a hands-on lab to discover how carbon dating works. Students also write a letter to a friend explaining the process, and how archeologists use the process to...
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Dating Popcorn
Young scholars simulate the dating process with popcorn. In this geology activity, students discuss how geologist find the age of rocks by gauging the amount of decay of radioactive elements. They have 6 bags of popcorn and each group...
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Radioactive Decay: A Sweet Simulation of a Half-life
High schoolers demonstrate rates of decay of unstable nuclei can be measured. They understand ratios and multiplication of fractions. They simulate radioactive decay. They read about the accomplishments of scientists.
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A Phylogenetic Perspective for the Cladistically Challenged
Students use M&Ms to simulate radioactive decay of elements.
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Radioactive Decay
Students generate a radioactive decay table for an imaginary element, use their data to plot a decay graph, develop the concept of half-life, and use the graph to "age" several samples.
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Half Life Analogy
Eighth graders explain half life. In this hands on activity, 8th graders use licorice to explain radioactive decay and graph their results.
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Finding the Ages of Rocks and Fossils
Students practice dating fossils. They learn the concept of "deep time"--that earth was formed billions of years ago. They experience excellent hand-outs and virtual age tutorial links.
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Exponential Decay
Young scholars study exponential decay and its application to radiocarbon dating. In this exponential decay lesson, students use candy to model the time it takes for something to decay. Young scholars also graph the data they collect and...
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Rock of Ages
Students use a video, the Internet and hands-on activities to explore how to determine the age of rocks and fossils based on radioactive decay data.
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Assessment & Evaluation
Seventh graders study elapsed time, radioactive decay and half-life. In this time machine lesson students complete several activities and view a presentation.
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Half Life Lab
Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.
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How Old Is Mike?
Students examine the absolute dating of fossils, they use a list of names and ages to determine the difference between relative age and absolute age. They explore the relative age and absolute age of people and of fossils.
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Fossil Inferences
Fourth graders use their knowledge about fossils to arrange fossil pictures in sequence from oldest to youngest. They explain how fossils can be used to make inferences about past life, climate, geology, and environments and discover...
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Half-Life Lab
Students participate in a lab in which they are introduced to carbon-dating. In groups, they use the holes of paper from a hole puncher and determine the rate of retention after shaking coins onto the same area. They record their...
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Properties of Matter
Ninth graders explore the molecular structure of matter and how it can affect the physical characteristics of a specific material. They demonstrate that isotopes of an element have different masses. Students demonstrate that the rates of...
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Determining Age Of Rocks And Fossils
Young scholars discuss together how to determine the relative age of each of the rock units in the block diagram (Figure 1). After students have decided how to establish the relative age of each rock unit, they should list them under the...
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Electron Sqare Dance
Students participate in an Electron Square Dance in which they act the part of atoms. They follow the structure of different atoms suggested by the teacher.