Unit 10: Teaching Atomic & Nuclear Physics

Click here for "Chapter 10" addendum (420 kb PDF).

Inquiry-Oriented Student Performance Objectives:

10.1 Bohr Model & Atomic Spectra

1. Students will, using a spectroscope and the appropriate formula, determine the wavelengths of the spectrum of nascent hydrogen (e.g., Balmer series).
2. Students will, using the Balmer formula for hydrogen, determine the electron jumps within nascent hydrogen that produce the Balmer series spectrum.

10.2 Statistics and Probability

1. Students will, using a radiation counter and a relatively "large" source (e.g., Cs-137 disk), note the nearly constant count rate.
2. Students will, using a source and a radiation counter (e.g. Geiger-Meuller tube) to measure gated counts over time, demonstrate that nature of the radioactive decay process is stochastic (random).
3. Students will compare the form of experimental counting data to the Poisson and Gaussian (normal) distributions.
4. Students will note the graduatal transition of count distribution from Poisson statistics to Gaussian statistics as the average count rate increases.

10.3 Radioactivity

1. Students will, using a radiation counter, assess the presence of radioactivity in common materials (e.g. lantern mantle and smoke detector, etc.)
2. Students will, using a cloud chamber, demonstrate that nature and types of radioactive decay.
3. Students will, using different radioactive sources and types of shielding, demonstrate that there are differenty types and energies of emitted particles/radiation.
4. Student will, using a radiation counter, measure the background radiation.
5. Student will, using a radiation counter, measure the absorption of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation using air, paper, and alumuinum.
6. Students will, using a minigenerator "cow" and appropriate eluant to "milk" the decay product, determine the decay constant and half-life of a radioactive substance with a short half-life (e.g. Barium 137 or Indium 113).
7. Students will, using a detector, emitter, and a suitable array of shielding materials, determine the thickness of the half-value-layer for different shieling materials such as lead and plastic.
8. Students will, using a sensor and gammar radiation point source, determine the rate at which radioactive intensity appears to fall off with respect to distance.
9. Student will concentrate naturally occurring radioactive substances using a charged balloon.
10. Students will determine the effective lifetime of collected radon decay products.

10.4 Rads and Rems

1. Students will, given an appropriate meter, measure the dosage absorbed by that meter using rads.
2. Students will, given the nature of the radioactive emission, determing the quality factor.
3. Students will, given the dose and quality factor of radioactive emsission, calculate the rem value of a dose.

Return to PHY 312 course syllabus.