- View more resources from this publisherUniversity of York Science Education Group (UYSEG)
Radiation and Radioactivity
This resource pack was influenced by the misunderstandings revealed by the reporting of the Chernobyl accident. Many newspaper articles referred to the ‘cloud of radiation’ which had escaped from the reactor, and warned people not to drink rainwater or milk because they ‘contain radiation’. All the lessons are fully supported by photocopiable student materials together with detailed teachers' notes. Also included is a chart of radiation doses. This is now out of date but there are modern charts available here and here .
Rationale
The order in which the main ideas are introduced in these lessons differs from that which is commonly followed. This is because research has shown that many students misinterpret the scientific ideas about radiation and radioactivity and are unable to apply scientific ideas to help them understand real-life situations where radiation and radioactivity are involved. The main misunderstandings are as follows:
*Many students appear not to be able to clearly distinguish the ideas of ‘radiation’ and ‘radioactive substance’. This confusion reflects a lack of discrimination between the two ideas in many people's ‘mental model’ of what is going on.
*Many students appear to interpret the idea that ‘radiation is absorbed’ in a way which is different from the scientific idea. They believe that objects which have been irradiated will themselves then be radioactive, perhaps just for a short time, or perhaps more permanently.
Contents
1 Source-radiation detector: a useful model
2 What happens when radiation is absorbed
3 Three types of radiation
4 Radioactivity all around!
5 Open and closed sources
6 Putting radioactive sources to use
7 Comparing sources: activity and half-life
8 Radiation dose: how much do we get?
9 Atoms, nuclei and transmutations
10 Randomness and chance.
Show health and safety information
Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.
Downloads
-
Radiation and radioactivity 10.65 MB