Intended Learning Outcomes 1a. Make observations and measurements. Use reference sources to obtain information. Analyze data and draw warrented inference. Construct models and simulations to describe and explain natural phenomena.
Scientists use radioactive dating to determine the time in years ago that an event happened.
Radioactive dating requires the use of a decay curve. In order for students to understand what a decay curve is and how to use it, the following activity is helpful. After the activity students can visit the Virtual Dating web site which allows them to use the mouse to obtain values from the decay curve in answering questions about the amount of radioactive element remaining in a substance. The process of obtaining radioactive dates from samples is also shown. Remove the pennies that came up heads.