The Half-life of Pennies Lab Can you use pennies to demonstrate "decay?Imagine existing more than 5,000 years and still having more than 5,000 to go! That is exactly what theunstable element carbon-14 does. Carbon-14 is a special unstable element used in the absolute datingof material that was once alive, such as fossil bones. Every 5,730 years, half of the carbon-14 in a fossilspecimen decays or breaks down into a more stable element. In the following lab you will see howpennies can show the same kind of "decay."Materials • 100 pennies • large container with a coverProcedure a. Place 100 pennies in a large, covered container. Shake the container several times andremove the cover. Carefully empty the container on a flat surface, making sure the pennies don't rollaway. b. Remove all the coins that have the "head" side of the coin turned upward. Record the numberof pennies removed and the number of pennies remaining in the data table below.Shake numberNumber ofcoins removedNumber ofcoins remaining356789Data Tablec. Repeat the process until no pennies are left in the container. Remember to remove only the coinsshowing "heads." d. Draw a graph to plot your data. Label the x-axis “Number of shakes," and label they-axis "Pennies remaining." Using data from your data table, plot the number of coins remaining at eachshake. d. Plot your data on the following graph. Label the x-axis "Number of shakes," and label the y-axis"Pennies remaining." Using data from your data table, plot the number of coins remaining at eachshake. The grid has 25 squares vertically, so each square counts as 4 pennies.10050 -4x label:X-Y plot of number of pennies remaining (Y) versus the number of shakes (X)Half-life of Carbon-14Analysis 1. Examine the "Half-life of Carbon-14" graph. Compare100the graph you have made for pennies with the one for carbon-14.Explain any similarities that you see.502512.56.2501 2 3 4 5Number of half-lives (5,730)2. Recall that the probability of landing "heads" in a coin toss is 1/2.Use this information to explain why the remaining number of pennies is reduced by about half each timethey are shaken and tossed.y label:Grams of carbon-14

The given problem is about the demonstration of Carbon-14 radioactive element by conducting a lab…

Analysis 1. Examine the "Half-life of Carbon-14" graph. Compare the graph you have made for pennies with the one for carbon-14. Explain any similarities that you see. Grams of carbon-14 Half-life of Carbon-14 100 50 25 12.5 6.25 0 1 2 3 Number of half-lives (5,730) 2. Recall that the probability of landing "heads" in a coin toss is 1/2. Use this information to explain why the remaining number of pennies is reduced by about half each time they are shaken and tossed.

Analysis 1. Examine the "Half-life of Carbon-14" graph. Compare the graph you have made for pennies with the one for carbon-14. Explain any similarities that you see. Grams of carbon-14 Half-life of Carbon-14 100 50 25 12.5 6.25 0 1 2 3 Number of half-lives (5,730) 2. Recall that the probability of landing "heads" in a coin toss is 1/2. Use this information to explain why the remaining number of pennies is reduced by about half each time they are shaken and tossed.

Inquiry into Physics

8th Edition

ISBN:9781337515863

Author:Ostdiek

Publisher:Ostdiek

Chapter11: Nuclear Physics

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 17Q

See similar textbooks

Similar questions

What would happen to a life-form if the genetic information handed down to offspring was copied extremely inaccurately? How would that endanger the future of the life-form?
Radimetric Dating Calculations:The half life of 40K is approximately 1.3 billion years, and it decays to 40Ar, which is trapped in igneous rocks as 40K decays. If we find a sample of granite in which the ratio of 40Ar/40K is 3/1, then how old is the sample?
Each time you dumped the pennies, one half-life passed; it has been shown that thehalf-life for this radioactive isotope is 20 years. In the year 2000, an archaeology teamunearths pottery and is using this isotope for radiometric dating to place the age of thepottery. It is shown that 95% of the nuclei have decayed. Using your graph,approximately how long ago was the pottery made?
2) Uranium-238 undergoes alpha decay. Into what element does Uranium 238 transmute? What is the atomic number of the new element? 4) Technetium-99 m is a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 6 hours. If a sample of was originally 100mg , how much would remain after 24 hours? 5) How long would it take a 1-kg radioactive substance with a half-life of 100 years to decay into1 2.5 g?
How many times longer than the mean life of anextremely unstable atomic nucleus is the lifetime of a human?(Hint: The lifetime of an unstable atomic nucleus is on theorder of 10−22 s .)
Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years. In a plant fossil, you find that the 14C14C has decayed to 1/4.00 of the original amount. How long ago was this plant alive?
1. UPinuim is a radioactive material found in 1999 weighing 52.5g. What will be its weight in 2049? (Half-life: 12.5 years) 2. What is the estimated age of a material whose C-14 activity is only 30% that of living wood? (C-14 half-life: 5730 years)
Carbon-14 commonly used for dating historical artifacts, is a radioactive isotope that is present in organic materials. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years. If a bone fragment is found that contains 50% of its original carbon-14,how old is the bone? years (round to the nearest whole number)
Carbon-14 has a half life of 5,730 years. A bone fragment is found that contains 30% of its original carbon-14. To the nearest year, how old is the bone?
Assume you found a radioactive isotope that has a 1 million year half-life in an "old" bone. If you were to measure a 20% "parent" to 80% "daughter" ratio, how old is the bone? How would a bone twice as big change the count rate and the half-life?
5.Atree falls in a forest. How many years must pass before the carbon-14 mass in the tree’s carbon drops to 3.125% of its value in living tree? The half-life of carbon-14 is T= 5570 years.
40K decays to 40Ar with a half-life of 1.3 billion years. Argon is a gas, so 40Ar escapes into the atmosphere once it forms. Suppose a sample of granite originally contained 20 g of 40K, but it now contains only 5 g. How many half-lives have passed? How old is the rock?