Present Your Findings Make a graph of the data collected.
Label the x-axis as time.
Label the y-axis as the number of undecayed atoms.
Be sure to title the graph.
Turn the graph into your teacher.
Write a summary paragraph discussing this experiment and the results. Use the following questions to help guide the content of your paragraph.
What was your hypothesis? According to your data, do you think your hypothesis was correct?
What is a half-life?
When does a radioactive sample emit the largest number of decay particles? Why is this information important? (How can it be applied in our world today?)
Do you think the shape of the curve on your graph would change if you increased the half-life to 20 seconds? What does this reveal about radioactive decay?
Do you think the shape of the curve on your graph would change if you started with a smaller sample, say 50 atoms (pennies)? What does this reveal about radioactive decay?