Radioactivity Prelab Assignment


Name:_______________________________ 4-digit Code Number:_______________________________

Read Taylor Error Analysis, Chapter 11.

  1. What are CPM?
  2. What are the three types of radiation studied in this lab?
  3. Why does radioactivity seem to be more common for heavier elements?
  4. What is the inverse square law for radiation? Explain in your own words what it means.
  5. Write the absorption law for radiation. Define the variables. Explain in your own words what it means.
  6. Define the term "half-life".
  7. Almost all of the atoms with which we come into daily contact have stable nuclei. Given that there are many more unstable isotopes than stable ones, how could this state of affairs have arisen?
  8. A certain Geiger counter reads 40,000 cpm. What is the error on this number?

Go to the lab