Carbon dating activity middle school

There are essential for upper middle school university by alicia thomas. Investigation and radioactive decay and half life activity. How carbon dating,
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Explore over 4, video courses. Find a degree that fits your goals. Try it risk-free for 30 days. Add to Add to Add to. Want to watch this again later? Educate your students about carbon dating with this lesson plan.

They will view a video lesson, participate in three hands-on activities, and take a related follow-up quiz to test them on main concepts. Learning Objectives After studying this lesson, your students will be able to: Determine what a half-life is and how it relates to carbon dating Explain how the basic process of carbon dating works Name some items that can be analyzed by carbon dating Length Instructions Inform your students they will be studying carbon dating.

Display the image of Willard Libby. Ask your students if anyone is familiar with Libby or his work. Review the vocabulary terms. Start the video lesson What is Carbon Dating: What are two examples of items that can be tested using carbon dating? What is another name for carbon dating? Does carbon date things that once were alive? Which scientist developed carbon dating?


  1. Learning Goals?
  2. Special Exhibitor Pricing Ends Nov 8?
  3. Context for Use?

What prize did he win? How old can materials be that are tested by carbon dating? Now, restart the video and pause this time at 2: To what does the term half-life refer? What is the half-life of carbon? Next, restart the video and pause again at 4: How is carbon formed in the atmosphere? How are the carbon cycle and photosynthesis related? Can you name five uses for carbon dating? What famous king's remains were tested by carbon dating? After which decade did carbon dating become commonplace?

Lastly, restart the video and view the section 'Lesson Summary. Have your students take the lesson quiz to demonstrate their understanding of the fundamentals of the lesson. Try it risk-free No obligation, cancel anytime.

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Want to learn more? Select a subject to preview related courses: Activity One Inform your students they will be playing a '15 Questions' type game involving carbon dating. Divide your students up into pairs.

Absolute dating activity middle school

Ask the following questions and have the pairs use the text lesson or the Internet to find the answers. Ethiopian stone tools from about 2. Howard Carter in the year 11 When oxygen reacts with carbon what is formed? Divide your students up into small groups of Hand out two rolls pennies per group. Write on the board two columns side-by-side.

The column to the left should read 'Half-Life. Groups, take all pennies from your rolls and place them on the table. Next, write a '1' in the first column, and a '50' in the second column. Groups, now take away 50 pennies.

Radioactive Dating: Looking at Half-Lives Using M&Ms

How many pennies do you have left? Groups, now take away 25 pennies.


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  • Carbon dating activity middle school?

    • Groups, now take away 13 pennies. Groups, now take away 6 pennies. Groups, now take away 3 pennies. Groups, now take away 2 pennies. Does anyone have further questions or comments? Don't forget to collect all your pennies! Activity Three Explain to your students they are going to draw a picture of King Tutankhamun King Tut , who is one of the most famous examples of the uses of carbon dating.

    Hand out colored markers and one large sheet of poster board per student. Display an image of King Tut.

    Frosty the Snowman Meets His Demise: An Analogy to Carbon Dating - Science NetLinks

    The students can also utilize other various images of King Tut that are available on the Internet. You may turn your poster board horizontal or vertical to draw your image. Don't worry if you are not a good artist. New information needed to be introduced with parent and daughter isotopes. Once students are in their groups, with supplies, and general directions are given, they are on their own for doing their runs. They will do this 8 times. Once they are finished with their 8 runs, they will record their data on the class data table which can be on the board.

    Once all groups data is on the table, you can calculate the average for each run and determine a class average. Students should recognize each time the number should go down by appx half. Then students take the class data and create a graph comparing the number of parent isotopes to the number of half-lives. Once this is done, students have some post questions they are given that they should record in their science notebook.

    The first post question caused some confusion: Why didn't each group get the same results? A lot of the students said because they shook the containers differently This was a new activity we implemented last tear. Radioactive decay and half-lives can be a very difficult concept for our 8th graders to grasp. They not only enjoyed this activity, but they really gained a better understanding of it as well.

    I have attached my rubric, this is what I use for assessment. Students graph, post questions, and data table will be looked at. Reuse Citing and Terms of Use Material on this page is offered under a Creative Commons license unless otherwise noted below. Click More Information below. Kathleen Babich, South St. Provenance Created by the author of the page containing this file. January 05, Short URL: