This topic does not have any feasible, applicable laboratory activities associated with
it. If, by some chance, your high school owns a Geiger counter (try the physics
teacher) or cloud chamber and a source of a or b emission, these items can be used
for demonstrations. A sealed b source can be used to expose Polaroid TM film. Half life
can be demonstrated by starting out with a known number of candy corn or other
object and diminishing by half each time. Dismissing a class by coin toss can simulate
the decay process (probability).

1. Relative energy calculations comparing the output of physical, chemical, and
    nuclear processes (see Appendix). Discuss the abundance of raw materials
    and compare that with the efficiency of energy conversion.

2. Have students understand the effects of a chain reaction. These effects can
    be illustrated by:
    a. generating a “picture in the mind” of a room full of mousetraps, each one
    with a ping-pong ball poised on the bait end of the trap. Now imagine
    tossing one ping-pong ball into the room and triggering the chain reaction.

    b. having students calculate how many cycles of letters it would take, in a high
    school of 1000 students, to make sure everyone received a chain letter.

3. Two excellent activities (half-life simulation and understanding isotopes)
    are included in the ChemCom unit on radioactive decay. (See References for
    publisher information.)

Language of Chemistry

1. Glossary

alpha particles(a, 42He) a nuclear particle containing two protons and two
neutrons with a mass number of four (4.0026 u). An alpha particle is
idee as one
of the reactants. Such a reaction is self-sustaining, once begun. In
nuclear fission, the chain reaction is started with neutrons that split
uranium nuclei, which, in turn release more neutrons to sustain the
reaction.

control rods cylinders usually made of neutron-absorbing material, such
as boron or cadmium, which may be lowered into a nuclear fission reactor
to control the speed of the reaction by slowing, or halting the chain process.

critical mass the minimum mass of radioactive material needed to sustain
fission.
 
 

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