Principal Sponsors
Makes grants to address the most serious social and environmental problems facing society, where risk capital, responsibly invested, may make a difference over time.
National Science Foundation
An independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science.
King Saud University seeks to become a leader in educational and technological innovation, scientific discovery and creativity through fostering an atmosphere of intellectual inspiration and partnership for the prosperity of society.
The O'Donnell Foundation is devoted to building model programs to enhance the quality of education.
Alpha Decay
Watch alpha particles escape from a polonium nucleus, causing radioactive alpha decay. See how random decay times relate to the half life.
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Teaching Resources
Main Topics
- Alpha Decay
- Half Life
- Radiation
Sample Learning Goals
- Explain what happens in alpha radiation.
- Predict what happens to an element when it undergoes alpha decay.
- Explain the concept of half life, including the random nature of it.
- Begin to gain an understanding of the forces that work to hold an atomic nucleus together (strong nuclear force) and the forces that work to break it apart (Coulomb, i.e. electric charge, force).
Tips for Teachers
The teacher's guide (pdf) contains tips created by the PhET team.
Teaching Ideas
| Title | Authors | Level | Type | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alpha Decay investigations
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Trish Loeblein | HS UG-Intro |
CQs Lab |
4/29/12 |
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Nuclear Processes
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Phil Cook | HS | Lab | 5/2/10 |
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Concept Questions for Chemistry using PhET
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Trish Loeblein | HS UG-Intro MS |
CQs | 7/9/13 |
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Visualization and Visual Illusions SIM Homework
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Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman | UG-Intro | HW | 1/9/11 |
| PhET LAB Alpha (IB 7.2) | Benjamin Forbes | HS | Lab | 2/16/15 |
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PhET Sims Aligned to the Chemistry Curriculum
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Julia Chamberlain | UG-Intro HS |
Other | 7/15/14 |
| Radioactivity | MEHMET EMIN KALE | UG-Intro HS |
HW Lab |
6/8/13 |
| Instructor | Clarence Canty | Other | Lab CQs |
8/19/10 |
| Phet Alpha Decay Simulation Lab | Drew Isola | HS | Other Lab |
6/26/10 |
| Spinometer | Chris Mounce | UG-Adv | Demo | 7/28/09 |
| Radioactive Decay, Fission and Chain Reactions | Debra Krause Dandaneau | UG-Intro HS |
Other Lab |
4/17/09 |
| Intrinsic Randomness | Roberta Tevlin | HS | CQs | 10/9/08 |
| 알파붕괴 SIM 사용지침서 | 이화국(Wha Kuk Lee) | UG-Intro HS |
Lab Demo |
5/17/13 |
You can submit your own ideas and activities.
Related Simulations
Translated Versions:
Software Requirements
| Windows | Macintosh | Linux |
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Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
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OS 10.5 or later Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later
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Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
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Credits
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
|---|---|---|
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