Chemistry • Nuclear Science Investigation
Nuclear Decay Lab
Observe alpha, beta-minus, and gamma decay, balance nuclear equations, compare shielding, and model the random nature of radioactive half-life.
Nuclear event viewer
Protons and neutrons are shown schematically, not to physical scale.
Shielding investigation
Compare the penetrating ability of α, β, and γ radiation.
Detector percentages are a conceptual comparison only. Real attenuation depends strongly on radiation energy, material, and thickness.
Half-life sample
Compare a smooth theoretical curve with random decay of individual nuclei.
Half-life graph
A half-life predicts the behavior of a large sample, not the exact decay time of one atom.
Parent nuclei remaining
Random samples fluctuate around the theoretical exponential decay curve.
Emits a helium nucleus: A decreases by 4 and Z decreases by 2.
A neutron changes to a proton while an electron is emitted: A stays the same and Z increases by 1.
An excited nucleus releases electromagnetic energy: neither A nor Z changes.