The Radioactivity Lab examines the intensity of radiation over distance, demonstrating the effects of the inverse square law. Students investigate the intensity of radiation being emitted from a radioactive Strontium-90 source, by setting distances at which a Geiger counter measures radiation, and collecting radioactive particle counts at each of these distances. A table holding the radioactive source is rotated until the source is aligned with a hole in a thick lead plate. The head holding the Geiger-Muller tube is moved to these distances from the radioactive source. Students receive data in the form of a .csv file to be analyzed in Microsoft Excel, or a similar data analysis tool.
| Topics/Standards it Teaches: | Inverse Square Law, Nuclear Theory |
| Correlating High School Course: | Physics, AP Physics B, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Biology, Chemistry |
| Interaction Mode: | Asynchronous |
| Name | Description | Access |
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| Undergraduate | Developed by the University of Queensland, this version is for undergraduate students with a familiarity with the scientific process. |  |
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High School | Several curricula developed by both Northwestern University's Office of STEM Education Partnerships, and Chicago-area high school science and math teachers. | |
The iLab Network is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant OCI-0753324. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations are those of the investigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.