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A TEACHERS GUIDE
TO THE
NUCLEAR SCIENCE WALL CHART
or
You dont have to be a Nuclear Physicist to
Understand Nuclear Science.
Nuclear ScienceA Teachers Guide to the Nuclear Science Wall Chart
1998 Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP)
ii
Contents
1. Overview
2. The Atomic Nucleus
3. Radioactivity
4. Fundamental Interactions
5. Symmetries and Antimatter
6. Nuclear Energy Levels
7. Nuclear Reactions
8. Heavy Elements
9. Phases of Nuclear Matter
10. Origin of the Elements
11. Particle Accelerators
12. Tools of Nuclear Science
13. ... but What is it Good for?
14. Energy from Nuclear Science
15. Radiation in the Environment
Appendix A Glossary of Nuclear Terms
Appendix B Classroom Topics
Appendix C Useful Quantities in Nuclear Science
Appendix D Average Annual Exposure
Appendix E Nobel Prizes in Nuclear Science
Appendix F Radiation Effects at Low Dosages
First Edition - March 1998 (Second Printing June 1998)
Nuclear ScienceA Teachers Guide to the Nuclear Science Wall Chart
1998 Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP)
iii
Contributors to the Booklet
Gordon Aubrecht Ohio State University, Marion and Columbus, OH
A. Baha Balantekin University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Wolfgang Bauer Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
John Beacom California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA
Elizabeth J. Beise University of Maryland, College Park, MD
David Bodansky University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Edgardo Browne Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Peggy Carlock Univ. of California & Spencer Foundation, Berkeley, CA
Yuen-Dat Chan Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Michael Cherney Creighton University, Omaha, NE
John Cramer University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Steve Corneliussen Jefferson Lab, Newport News, VA
Janis Dairiki Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Michael Drawgowsky Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Kenneth Krane Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Ruth-Mary Larimer Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Michael Liebl Mount Michael High School, Elkhorn, NE
Howard S. Matis Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Margaret McMahan Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Richard McDonald Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Victor Noto Mandeville High School, Mandeville, LA
Eric Norman Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
James OConnell Frederick Community College, Frederick, MD
Glenn T. Seaborg Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Robert J. Shalit Salinas High School, Salinas, CA
Dawn Shaughnessy Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
Karen Street Berkeley, CA
Nuclear ScienceA Teachers Guide to the Nuclear Science Wall Chart
1998 Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP)
iv
First Edition: March 1998
Editors Note:
In April 1997, we circulated about 300 copies of this booklet throughout the United
States and the rest of world. Comments came from teachers who taught all levels and also
from nuclear scientists throughout the world. From these many excellent comments, we
prepared a second version in the summer of 1997. During a week long summer workshop,
sponsored by the American Physical Society (APS)Division of Nuclear Physics, John
Cramer, James OConnell, Ken Krane, Margaret McMahan, Eric Norman, Karen Street
and I, completely revised the previous version. Once again we circulated the manuscript
and once again we received many excellent suggestions. We have tried to incorporate as
many of these improvements as possible.
This teachers guide is a work in progress. We welcome your advice and
suggestions. Most important are responses that describe how useful you have found this
guide for classroom use and what sections you used. We would like success stories as well
as discussions of the problems that you have found. We have tried to edit this booklet as
carefully as possible. Undoubtedly, there are sections that are too abstract, too abstruse, or
perhaps misleading. There are still many typos. Your comments are essential to make the
next edition even better. Please send them to
Howard Matis
MS 70-319
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley, CA 94720
[email protected]
Teachers can reproduce this document for their classroom use as long as they
include the title and copyright statement.
Many other people besides the authors contributed to the creation of this guide.
Because of the large number of contributions, we have only been able to acknowledge a
few as authors. We thank the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Department of
Energy, the American Physical SocietyDivision of Nuclear Physics, and the J.M.
Nitschke Fund for their support and encouragement in preparing this manuscript.
Howard Matis
for the Nuclear Wall Chart Committee
Berkeley, California
March 1998
Nuclear ScienceA Teachers Guide to the Nuclear Science Wall Chart
1998 Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP)
v
About CPEP
CPEP is a non-profit organization of teachers, educators, and physicists located around the
world. CPEP materials (charts, software, text, web resources) present the current
understanding of the fundamental nature of matter and energy, incorporating the major
research findings of recent years as well as current research topics. During the last ten
years, CPEP has distributed more than 100,000 copies of its charts and other products.
More information can be found on the web at http://pdg.lbl.gov/cpep.html.
CPEP educational materials are distributed by Science Kit. Science Kits web address is
http://www.sciencekit.com and its telephone number is 1-800-828-7777. The following
table lists CPEPs Nuclear Science Products:
Cat. # Item Si ze
71960-00 Large Nuclear Science Chart 105 150 cm
71960-02 Poster-Size Nuclear Science Chart 53 75 cm
71960-30 Package of 30 Notebook Nuclear Science Charts 28 41 cm
71960-04 Teachers Guide to Nuclear Science