CHEMISTRY: Hey guys! Here’s where you can find the first info on the Half-life Simulation Lab. It’s perhaps a bit safer than the real thing? Unless, of course, you’ve taken someone’s M&M’s and then you could have a whole different kind of meltdown! Someone stop me!

This is just the first post, you’ll post your results under a second post that will be just for your class period. I’ll probably write that post around Monday or so. Don’t forget that your results must be posted by next Friday, Jan. 11, by midnight on the post for YOUR CLASS – not this post (and yes, that can be your webpost for the week!). The lab report will be due written up in your lab book on the next Monday, Jan. 14.

By the way, you don’t have to use candies; you may use coins or anything else that has two sides. Please note that you are to post the number of “radioactive” nuclides remaining after each toss.

Just to clarify, everything on the lab sheets will go in your lab book. Title, Objective, Procedure, Observations (with data table), Conclusion, and Questions. Don’t forget that your graph needs to be drawn on graph paper, folded in half, and attached in your lab book. It can be stapled or taped (neatly, nothing sticking out of the lab book). And don’t forget that the analysis questions, calculations, graph, etc., go after your conclusion. Happy counting! 🙂

CHEMISTRY: So ordinarily it looks like just any old hunk of rock, but this is a picture of uranium ore under UV light. Pretty cool, huh?!? Here’s the lecture from TFriday on the properties of radioactive nuclides and the types of radioactive decay. Don’t you just love Fridays?

Hey, great job learning to write nuclear equations today! Don’t forget to memorize the nuclear symbols for alpha particles, beta particles (electrons), positrons, neutrons, and protons. I don’t think it will be nearly as bad as polyatomic ions!
🙂

Have any of you decided you want to get a head start on the half-life simulation lab? Don’t let it stress you out! It’s one of easiest labs you’ve done. But it does require that you READ the instructions on the syllabus and the website (The post on the website will be up soon, be sure and look for it.). If there is something you still don’t understand, make sure you ask me, I’ll be glad to help! And speaking of half-life, let’s do some calculating on Monday. Calculators ready!