Half-life and the age of the universe
Half-life and the age of the universe
Lesson duration is: 55 minItems in this lesson
Half-life and the age of the universe
What is Half-Life?
Can we use Half-Life to determine the age of our universe?
Yes
No
Why would half-life be important in history?
Can Half-Life be used for dating ourselves?
Yes, it measures human age
No, it's for non-biological materials
Yes, for all living things
No, only for fossils
Does the rule of Half-Life apply to every element?
Look around the room.
What objects do you see that are affected by Half-Life?
The assignment
Group up in pairs of two.
You will discuss with your partner which of the 16 previously shown elements you want to research, and create a timeline of.
Where did this element come from? Who discovered this element?
What object(s) is this elements included in? How long do they "live"?
And what do they decay into?
Make a poster, or presentation... be creative!
Tritium-3 (³H)
Has, at most, "lived" for 12.3 years! And could "live", at most, for 12.3 more!
(Meaning this sign is proof that the universe is atleast 12.3 years old.)
Helium-3 (³He)
Helium-3 is stable, meaning it no longer decays!
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford would first discover the element tritium in 1934.
Decays into
What did you learn today?
