Radioactive Decay and Penetration Depth--Why Should There Be an e?

Autor/in	Baird, Bill
Titel	Radioactive Decay and Penetration Depth--Why Should There Be an e?
Quelle	In: Physics Teacher, 52 (2014) 4, S.234-235 (2 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0031-921X
DOI	10.1119/1.4868940
Schlagwörter	Leitfaden; Unterricht; Lehrer; Scientific Concepts; Scientific Principles; Teaching Methods; Science Activities; Science Experiments; Spectroscopy; Spreadsheets; Radiation Biology; Time; Models; Instructional Innovation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Lesson concept; Instruction; Unterrichtsentwurf; Unterrichtsprozess; Teacher; Teachers; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Spektroskopie; Spread sheet; Spredsheets; Spreadsheet; Tabellenkalkulation; Radiobiologie; Zeit; Analogiemodell; Educational Innovation; Bildungsinnovation
Abstract	When students are first introduced to the idea of radioactive decay, a large conceptual hurdle must be overcome. The thought that an object's age has no bearing on the chance it will "die" (decay in this case) on a particular day is completely at odds with biological notions of life and death. Through the use of a simple spreadsheet, students are shown that something analogous to coin flips will yield the exponential curve describing decay. A similar spreadsheet is then used to show that the exponential curve associated with the penetration depth of radiation is produced through the use of the same kind of random process applied to slices of matter rather than slices of time. The spreadsheets model two common introductory laboratory experiments but avoid the need for Geiger counters, radioactive sources, and sheets of absorbing material. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10