Particles and radiation
This topic can be tricky for students who have misconceptions around the particle model and is an ideal time to clarify this area, before building on it. It is important to use examples and models to show atoms and isotopes clearly and relate those to the effects on objects and cells. Students often also have other language from news reports and fiction that confuse them and cause misunderstandings like objects absorbing and becoming 'radioactive' themselves. This is why it is helpful to give several examples of real life uses and effects to show different scenarios like injecting tracers with a short half-life or using gamma radiation to sterilise equipment.
Whilst this list provides a source of information and ideas for experimental work, it is important to note that recommendations can date very quickly. Do NOT follow suggestions which conflict with current advice from CLEAPSS, SSERC or recent safety guides. eLibrary users are responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is consistent with current regulations related to Health and Safety and that they carry an appropriate risk assessment. Further information is provided in our Health and Safety guidance.
Episode 510: Properties of Radiations
Although some of the content of this learning episode from the Institute of Physics (IoP) is beyond what is required in this specification (specifically, looking at the inverse square law), it may be helpful for background teachers to think about their teaching and demonstrations they could use in looking at the types of radiation, alpha, beta and gamma. The teaching notes can help with how to bring in the ideas and avoid common misconceptions.
Radioactivity in Medicine
This Catalyst magazine article relates radioactivity and its different applications in medicine to meiosis and mitosis of cells. It could be used with a list of questions to clarify key ideas or to find some examples of when half life is important to decide on which isotope you might choose for a certain use. As it is an article, it would be ideal as a homework task with some discussion afterwards.
Demonstrating Physics: Radioactivity
A video showing David Richardson from the Institute of Physics (IoP) explaining radioactivity demonstrations. David shows a range of experiments using alpha, beta and gamma ionising radiation and supporting animations help explain what is happening on an atomic level. There are also some useful suggestions for starter activities to help their students engage with the lesson .
Episode 508: Preparation for the Radioactivity Topic
A collection of resources and demonstrations from the Institute of Physics (IoP) that could be used to look at related aspects of radioactivity measurement to those already detailed in the specification. One potentially useful episode looks at background radiation including simple demonstrations, like one that looks at household dust, and the effect of background radiation on measurements that are made.
Nuclear medicine technologist
A short careers video that describes the job and on-the-job degree pathway for a nuclear medicine technologist using radioactive tracers. This could be an introduction to the use of tracers or the start of a discussion about possible future employment and training routes.
Gamma Cameras
This resource from the Institute of Physics (IOP), describes how cameras sensitive to gamma radiation can be used to image the body. The video, taken from an IOP Schools and Colleges lecture, briefly describes the history of the discovery of radioactivity and how the first particle accelerators could be used to make radioactive material. A student worksheet, with answers and teacher notes can be used alongside the video to focus student thinking and these would ideally be used at the end of this topic to bring together some of the ideas around half life and radioactivity.
Half-life dice
This investigation is a modelling activity that looks at the random nature of radioactive decay and develops the idea of half life. It could be helpful to produce a graph as suggested in the resource to demonstrate the concept in a different way.
The half-life of water
Another alternative modelling activity that can be used if wooden blocks are not available, to develop the ideas around half life and the random nature of decay. It may be easier for some students to visualise the pattern that forms in this investigation and see how it relates to the shape of a decay curve. This resource could be used before some of the others in this list that look at isotopes with different half-lives and why they have certain uses.
Medical Physics and Radioactivity
This resource, developed by the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), contains a presentation and teachers' notes with worksheets for students to use. It illustrates the uses of radioactivity in medicine after first clarifying the ideas around alpha, beta and gamma radiation and ionisation. It would be a good way to develop the concept after an initial introduction.
PhET simulation: alpha decay
This PhET simulation can help with student understanding of the random nature of decay and the concept of half-life. It may be helpful to use as an addition to other investigations and demonstrations to models the ideas as a homework with some ideas you could 'test' e.g. 'Can you predict which isotope will decay first?'
Radiation and Radioactivity
Although this resource is now getting quite old, it has some activities related to the Chernobyl nuclear accident that could be interesting for students, especially including demonstrations to use in class and background on radioactive sources. There is also an introduction that deals with possible misconceptions that students may have and this is useful for teachers to read before they come to teaching the topic.
