Report for Experiment #21

Radioactive Decay

Monique Desrochers
TA: Hongwei Chen
April 6, 2020

Abstract
In this experiment, a Geiger counter was used to detect background radiation and radiation emitted by
isotope 137Cs. In the first investigation, the average number of background counts/30s was 9.75 ± 0.924
counts/30s. The count rate differing from the average by 5 counts/30s or more was 25%, and 0% of the
counts differed from the average by 10 counts/30s. In the second investigation, the radiation emitted by
isotope 137Cs was studied over 10s. The average counting rate of the source nsavg was 57.15 ± 0.919
counts/10s. The standard deviation σ of the 60 trials of data was 7.12, while the square root of the average
√nsavg was 7.56. The number of counts/10s measurements between nsavg ± √nsavg was 78%. The theoretical
percentage is 68%. The number of counts/10s measurements within ± 2*√nsavg was 95% of the data. The
corrected value of radiation counts of isotope 137Cs was 50.55 ± 969 counts/10s. In the third investigation,
gamma radiation shielding was studied using different thicknesses of lead to shield isotope 137Cs from the
Geiger counter over 60s. The natural log of the corrected count vs. absorber thickness was plotted, and
the slope of the best fit line was -2.008 ± 0.412, which corresponds with the absorption coefficient (µ).
The half-life layer of the lead absorbers was 0.877 ± 0.125 cm. The known half-life layer for lead λlead is
0.635cm. The theoretical value does not fall within uncertainty of the experimental value. The percent
error of the experimental value was 38%.
Introduction
Radioactivity is caused by unstable atomic nuclei disintegration. A nucleus is the positively
charged center of an atom, composed of protons and neutrons, which together are called nucleons. The
decay of nuclei emits “ionizing radiation,” which is a type of energy that travels in waves (gamma) or
particles (alpha, beta) [1]. An alpha particle is made up of two protons and two neutrons. The emission of
an alpha particle means that the decaying nucleus now has two less protons and two less neutrons,
creating a new element atom. A beta particle is an electron that is emitted when a neutron changes into a
positively charged proton. Beta particles are the most common form of radioactive emission. Gamma
radiation is electromagnetic energy being released. It does not change the nucleus of an atom, but it often
occurs in conjunction with beta decay. Nuclei commonly decay twice; once with the release of a beta
particle, exciting the atom, and then again with the emission of gamma radiation, which makes the new
element atom decrease energy to become its ground state. Alpha and beta particles require very little
material to be shielded against, with the latter stopped by less than 1 mm of lead. However, shielding
gamma rays requires a thick layer of material [2].
Geiger tubes are used to detect nuclear radiation. It is a metal tube with a wire running through its
center. Alpha, beta, and gamma cause ionization, and the released electrons cause more electrons to be
released in the free gas within the tube, rapidly ionizing the gas. This causes a discharge of energy that is
sensed by the wire as a “count.” The detection efficiency ε of the detector can be defined as
N counts
ε= ,
N decay
(1)
which is the number of counts detected by the tube over the number of decays of the radioactive source
[2]. With beta particles (electrons), the efficiency is 100%, but gamma rays are often undetected by the
Geiger tube.
Decays are spontaneous and therefor occur at random. The rate R at which the Geiger counter
counts is given by
R=ε Rdecay ,
( 2)
where Rdecay is the rate by which a given number of atoms decay. The time for half the atoms to decay is
called the half-life (t1/2). Radioactive decay counts fall in a normal distribution, meaning that 68% of
observations should fall within +/- √ navg , where navg is the average of all the counts.

In this experiment, a Geiger counter will be used to detect both background radiation and the
radioactive decay of isotope 137Cs. In Investigation 1, the decay of background radiation is counted over
the course of 30s for 20 trials. In Investigation 2, the decay of isotope 137Cs was counted in 10s for 60
trials and corrected against the background radiation counts discovered in Investigation 1. The
spontaneity of radioactive decay was also observed, as the counts from the isotope were placed in a
histogram. In Investigation 3, shielding against radioactivity was studied. Eight trials of 60s counts were
completed using different thicknesses of lead to shield the Geiger counter from the isotope.

Investigation 1
 In this investigation, background radiation was observed. A SPECTECH ST-350 box connected
to the Geiger counter was set to the high voltage of 850V and the time was set to 30.00s. After 30
seconds, the number of counts detected by the Geiger counter was recorded until 20 sets of data were
collected. All counts can be found in Appendix A at the end of this lab report.
The average number of background counts nbavg was found using the equation
N

∑ nb1
nb avg= i=1 ,
N
( 5)

where the numerator is the sum of all the counts and the denominator N is the number of count trials. The
error of the average distance δnbavg was found by using
σ
δ nbavg= ,
√N
(6)
where the numerator is the standard deviation of the counts and the denominator is the square root of N.
The average number of background counts nbavg over the course of 30 seconds was 9.75 ± 0.924
counts/30s. The number of times the count rate differed from the average by 5 counts/30s or more was 5
times, which is 25% of the count data. 0% of the counts differed from the average by 10 counts/30s.
There was random error present in this investigation, in which the actual number of background
counts was inaccurate because the Geiger counter is not efficient when it comes to counting gamma rays.
Thus, it was mostly beta emissions recorded and not the entirety of the radiation caused by the
background.

Investigation 2
In this investigation, the radiation emitted by isotope 137Cs was studied by using a similar Geiger
counter setup in the first investigation. This time, a tray was placed under the tube and a cesium source
was placed on the tray by a TA. The high voltage was kept at 850V, and the timer was set to 10.00s. After
10 seconds, the number of counts detected by the Geiger counter was recorded until 60 sets of data were
collected. All counts can be found in Appendix B.
A histogram of the collected count data was created to visualize the distribution of radioactive
decay Figure 1.
Counts/1 Frequen
0s cy
43 1
44-48 4
49-53 13
54-58 17
59-63 17
64-68 3
69-73 4
74-78 1
78< 0
 Figure 1: Histogram of 60 radiation counts of isotope 137C per 10s.

Figure 1 supports that the radioactive counts fall within a normal distribution, as the data falls within a
bell-curve shape [2]. The majority of the counts are very close to the average counting rate of the source
nsavg, which is 57.15 ± 0.919 counts/10s (Eq. 5; Eq. 6).
The standard deviation σ of the 60 trials of data was 7.12, while the square root of the average
√nsavg was 7.56. These two results are very close to one another because in normal distributions, the
standard deviation can be expressed as the square root of the average.
The number of counts/10s measurements between nsavg ± √nsavg was 47, which is 78% of the data.
The theoretical percentage is 68%, which is the amount of observations that will have a count value that
differs by no more than plus/minus one standard deviation. The experimental value was 10% higher than
the theoretical value, likely due to the number of trials performed. 60 trials are not a large enough number
to perfectly align with normal distribution. If there were more trials, this percentage would be closer to
the theoretical value.
The number of counts/10s measurements within ± two standard deviations (2*√nsavg) was 57
counts, which is 95% of the data. In normal distribution statistics, this value is 95%, so the experimental
and theoretical values are identical.
In the first investigation, the background radiation count rate was quantified. Background
radiation would affect the count rate of the decays of the isotope 137Cs detected by the Geiger counter by
adding extra counts. The corrected count rate was found by subtracting the amount of expected
background radiation counts over 10s from the isotope counts. The expected background radiation counts
over 10s was

n b avg counts
19.8
30 s 30 s counts
n b avg = = =6.6 .
10 s
3 3 10 s
( 7)
This was calculated by dividing the original background count average by 3, because the original value
was over 30 seconds, while the value we need is over 10 seconds. Thus, the corrected value of radiation
counts of isotope 137Cs was
counts
n corr =ns avg−nb avg=57.15−6.6=50.55 .
10 s
(8)
The error of the background radiation count rate over 10s δnbavg/10s was found using Eq. 7, and it was
0.308. The error of the corrected value of radiation counts of isotope 137Cs was found by

δ ncorr = √ δ nbavg2 +δ ns avg2 .

( 9)
The corrected value of radiation counts of isotope 137Cs was 50.55 ± 969 counts/10s.
All calculated values are found in Table 1.
 Table 1: Count averages with uncertainty, standard deviation, and distribution percentages.
nsavg δnsavg nsavg nsavg nbavg δnbavg δncorr
(counts/10 (counts/10 √nsa ±√nsa ±2√nsa (counts/10 (counts/10 ncorr(counts/10 (counts/10
s) s) vg σ vg (%) vg (%) s) s) s) s)
7.1
57.15 0.919 7.56 2 78 95 6.6 0.308 50.55 0.969

Investigation 3
In this investigation, gamma radiation shielding was studied using different thicknesses of lead.
The same Geiger counter with isotope 137Cs setup was used from the second investigation. The high
voltage was kept at 850V and the timer was set to 60.00s. In each 60s trial, a lead absorber was placed
between the isotope and the Geiger counter so that 8 trials of count measurements were collected. Four
different absorbers were provided, labeled T, S, R, and Q, with thicknesses 0.25 in, 0.125 in, 0.064 in, and
0.032 in, respectively. These individually were used in the first four trials. The next four trials used a
combination of these absorbers to create different thicknesses. The count rate of the isotope passing
through the absorbers is called the intensity (I). This value was corrected using the background radiation
per 60s (B) counted in Investigation 1. All intensity (counts/60s) recordings, thicknesses, and corrected
data can be found in Table 2.
Table 2: Background radiation (counts/60s), intensity (counts/60s), absorber thickness, corrected data, and natural
logarithmic calculations with uncertainties.
B (counts/60s) 39.6
δB (counts/60s) 1.85
I δI Icorr δIcorr
(counts/60s (counts/60s (counts/60s (counts/60s)
Trial ) Thickness (in) ) ) ln(Icorr) δln(Icorr)
1 180 0.25 T 13.4 140 11.85 4.94 0.0844
2 213 0.125 S 14.6 173 13.17 5.16 0.0759
3 230 0.064 R 15.2 190 13.80 5.25 0.0725
4 272 0.032 Q 16.5 232 15.24 5.45 0.0656
5 236 0.096 Q+R 15.4 196 14.01 5.28 0.0714
6 217 0.157 Q+S 14.7 177 13.32 5.18 0.0751
7 205 0.189 R+S 14.3 165 12.86 5.11 0.0778
8 188 0.221 R+S+Q 13.7 148 12.18 5.00 0.0821

Using the data from Investigation 1, the average background B in units of counts/60s was
determined by
counts
B=n b avg × 2=19.8 ×2=39.6
30 s
60 s
( 10 )
to convert counts/30s to counts/60s. Its error δB was calculated in the same way (Eq. 10). The average
background was calculated to be 39.6 ± 1.85 counts/60s. Rewriting Eq. 8, the corrected intensity Icorr data
I corr =I −B .
using the background is
( 11 )
The error of the corrected intensity δIcorr data was found by finding the square root of the corresponding
intensity value (Eq. 12).
δI corr =√ I corr
( 12 )
The natural log of the intensity data (lnIcorr) was found, and the error δlnIcorr was found using
δI corr
δ ln I corr =¿ . ¿ ( 13 )
I corr
The natural log of the corrected count vs. absorber thickness was plotted (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Natural log of corrected data vs. absorber thickness.

The slope of the best fit line in Figure 2 was -2.008 ± 0.412. The error in the slope was found
using the Straight Line Fit Calculator [3]. A straight line was used as the trendline due to the equation
ln I =−µx + K ,
( 14 )
which shows that natural log of the intensity lnI is a linear function of thickness. This equation also shows
that the slope of the data corresponds with the absorption coefficient (µ). The absorption coefficient can
be used to find the half-life layer (λ) of the absorbers, as these two values are related by
ln 2
µ= .
λ
( 15 )
The error (δλ) was calculated using

δ λ=λ × ln 2× ( −δµ µ ) .
( 16 )
The half-life layer of the lead absorbers was calculated to be 0.345 ± 0.049 inches, which can be
converted to 0.877 ± 0.125 centimeters. The known half-life layer for lead λlead is 0.635cm. The
theoretical value does not fall within uncertainty of the experimental value. The percent error equation is

percent error= |¿ experimental−¿theoretical

¿ theoretical |×100 % ,
(17)
so the percent error of the experimental value was 38%. This is a high error, which supports that there
were inaccuracies that may have occurred in the experiment. The biggest source of error would be the
random error due to the Geiger counter being relatively inefficient when it comes to counting gamma
rays, which was the radiation detected in this experiment. Gamma rays can go undetected because they
have the ability to pass through the tube without interacting with the inside gas. This would affect the
counts recorded by the Geiger counter and thus affect the calculation value for the half life layer of the
absorbers.

Conclusion
In the first investigation, background radiation was counted over the course of 30s for 20 trials
using a Geiger counter set to 850V and 30s. The average number of background counts nbavg over the
course of 30 seconds was 9.75 ± 0.924 counts/30s. The number of times the count rate differed from the
average by 5 counts/30s or more was 5 times, which is 25% of the count data. 0% of the counts differed
from the average by 10 counts/30s.
In the second investigation, the radiation emitted by isotope 137Cs was studied by using the setup
in first investigation with the timer set to 10s and an isotope 137Cs placed under the tube. 60 sets of data
were collected. A histogram of the collected count data was created to visualize the normal distribution of
radioactive decay. The average counting rate of the source nsavg, which is 57.15 ± 0.919 counts/10s. The
standard deviation σ of the 60 trials of data was 7.12, while the square root of the average √nsavg was 7.56.
In normal distributions, the standard deviation can be expressed as the square root of the average, so these
two values are very close to one another. The number of counts/10s measurements between nsavg ± √nsavg
was 78%. The theoretical percentage is 68%. The experimental value was 10% higher than the theoretical
value, likely due to the small number of trials performed. The number of counts/10s measurements within
± two standard deviations (2*√nsavg) was 57 counts, which is 95% of the data, which aligns with normal
distribution statistics. Using the found background radiation from the first investigation, the corrected
value of radiation counts of isotope 137Cs was 50.55 ± 969 counts/10s.
In the third investigation, gamma radiation shielding was studied using different thicknesses of
lead to shield isotope 137Cs from the Geiger counter. The high voltage was kept at 850V and the timer was
set to 60s, and 8 trials of intensity data were collected using different thicknesses of absorbers. In each
60s trial, a lead absorber was placed between the isotope and the Geiger counter so that 8 trials of count
measurements were collected. The average background (B) 39.6 ± 1.85 counts/60s was used to correct the
intensity data (Icorr). The natural log of the corrected count vs. absorber thickness was plotted, and the
slope of the best fit line was -2.008 ± 0.412. The natural log of the intensity lnI is a linear function of
thickness, and the slope of the data corresponds with the absorption coefficient (µ). The half-life layer of
the lead absorbers was calculated to be 0.345 ± 0.049 in, which can be converted to 0.877 ± 0.125 cm.
The known half-life layer for lead λlead is 0.635cm. The theoretical value does not fall within uncertainty
of the experimental value. The percent error of the experimental value was 38%. This is a high error,
which supports that there were inaccuracies that may have occurred in the experiment.
The errors caused in this experiment was due to random error caused by the Geiger counter. The
Geiger counter is inefficient in counting gamma rays, which are part of background radiation and whihch
were the focus of Investigation 3. Gamma rays can go undetected because they have the ability to pass
through the tube without interacting with the inside gas. This would affect the counts recorded by the
Geiger counter and thus affect the background count data as well as the calculated value for the half-life
layer of the absorbers in Investigation 3.

Questions
1. A Geiger counter measures 750 counts in 5.0 min.
 a. Average counting rate per minute = 750/5= 150 counts/min.
Standard deviation = √ 150/min = 12.25/min.
b. Relative error = (12.25/150)*100%= 8.16%
c. Time (for relative error of 1%) = 1/(√ 150/min * 0.01) = 8.16 minutes.
2. The expected value is λ(10s) = 486/6= 81 counts, and we are given n = 72 counts. Using Poisson
λ n e− λ
probability for a single value: P ( x=n )= , the p-value of x<72 = 0.145. This more likely
n!
than the probability of getting less than 432 counts in 60s. The expected (given) value for λ(60s)
= 486 cpm, and n = 72*6 = 432 cpm. The p-value for x<432 = 0.00599.
3. For the intensity to be reduced by a factor of 3, the thickness of the lead (with µ = 2) would need
ln 3
to be x= =¿0.549 inches. This aligns with the straight line fit in Figure 1, which shows that
µ
as the thickness increases, the intensity decreases.
A r2
4. Using F R = , we can manipulate this fraction to be , where r is ½ in and d is 2 in. The
4 π D2 4 D2
percentage of the source’s decays that will be incident on the counter is 1.56%.
p0
5. Using h= , we can find the depth of water necessary to provide the same cosmic shielding
pg
provided by the earth’s atmosphere. Using 1atm = 101325 Pa, h = 10.34 meters deep.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the IPL team for creating the lab video to be followed for this experiment. Additional
thanks to Hongwei Chen for being a great TA throughout this semester!

References
[1] Giancoli, Douglas C., Physics: Principles with Applications, pp 863-878, Pearson Education, 7th
edition.
[2] Hyde, Batishchev, and Altunkaynak, Introductory Physics Laboratory, pp 225-236, Hayden-McNeil,
2019.
[3] IPL Straight Line Fit Calculator, http://www.northeastern.edu/ipl/data-analysis/straight-line-fit/

Appendix A
20 trials of 30s count data from Investigation 1.
T 6 23 14 24
ri 7 12 15 21
al Coun
s ts/30s 8 13 16 15
1 20 9 18 17 12
2 24 10 23 18 20
3 22 11 18 19 27
4 19 12 23 20 21
5 17 13 23
Appendix B
60 trials of 10s count data from Investigation 2.
Tria Counts/10 15 52 31 70 47 61
l s
16 53 32 55 48 61
1 62
17 66 33 57 49 52
2 62
18 61 34 44 50 61
3 51
19 47 35 59 51 62
4 70
20 60 36 54 52 50
5 51
21 46 37 64 53 59
6 54
22 58 38 54 54 57
7 49
23 53 39 57 55 61
8 57
24 50 40 58 56 54
9 55
25 73 41 58 57 53
10 60
26 64 42 62 58 52
11 38
27 70 43 54 59 51
12 49
28 62 44 56 60 58
13 47
29 60 45 54
14 78
30 61 46 62