Name ________________________________________ Date __________________________ Period _________
Identifying an Unknown Radiation Source
Find the Lab
In your web browser, go to www.gigaphysics.com, then click Virtual Labs, and then Geiger-Müller Tube. If someone else used the computer for this lab before you, click New Experiment. This will ensure that you have your own random sources for the experiment.
Part I: Measure the Background Radiation
First we need to account for the radiation in the air, building materials, etc.—things other than the radioactive sources. (Yes, the lab is programmed to simulate these background sources.) To measure the background radiation, set the Radiation source to none (background), the Type of barrier to none, and the Count Duration to 30 seconds. Click Start Count to begin counting the number of background particles that hit the counter in 30 seconds. After the count has completed, record your answer below.
Background: ____________________ counts in 30 seconds
Part II: Alpha Radiation
Later you will try to identify an unknown radiation source as alpha, beta, or gamma. In order to do so, you will first need to know how each type of radiation is affected by barriers such as cardboard, lead, etc. To start these tests, change the Radiation source to alpha. You may leave the Type of barrier and Count duration as they were in part I. Click Start Count to obtain your count, then enter it in the first line of the data table at the top of the next page. This count goes in the including background” column since you have not yet removed the background counts that you measured in part I. To determine the counts from just the alpha source, subtract the number of background counts you measured in part I from the count you just measured. Record this figure in the “excluding background” column of the table. To find out how a cardboard barrier affects alpha radiation, change the Type of barrier to cardboard and the Number of barriers to one. Click Start Count again to obtain the count with one cardboard barrier between the alpha source and the detector. Record the data. Continue with the rest of the rows in the table. Sometimes the alpha count may be less than the background. This happens because this simulation is programmed to randomly vary the counts, just as in the real world. If this happens, write zero for the counts excluding the background.
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Type of barrier Number of barriers Alpha counts/30 seconds Alpha counts/30 seconds (including background) (excluding background) None --- Cardboard 1 Cardboard 3 Cardboard 5 Plastic 1 Plastic 3 Plastic 5 Lead 1 Lead 3 Lead 5
Based on your data, how hard is it to block alpha radiation? Which barriers are more effective? Which are less effective? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part III: Beta Radiation
Change the Radiation source to beta and repeat the previous experiment.
Type of barrier Number of barriers Beta counts/30 seconds Beta counts/30 seconds (including background) (excluding background) None --- Cardboard 1 Cardboard 3 Cardboard 5 Plastic 1 Plastic 3 Plastic 5 Lead 1 Lead 3 Lead 5
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Based on your data, how hard is it to block alpha radiation? Which barriers are more effective? Which are less effective? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part IV: Gamma Radiation
Change the Radiation source to gamma and repeat the previous experiment.
Type of barrier Number of barriers Gamma counts/30 sec Gamma counts/30 sec (including background) (excluding background) None --- Cardboard 1 Cardboard 3 Cardboard 5 Plastic 1 Plastic 3 Plastic 5 Lead 1 Lead 3 Lead 5
Based on your data, how hard is it to block gamma radiation? Which barriers are more effective? Which are less effective? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part V: Identify the Unknown Source
Now that you know how each type of radiation is affected by different types of barriers, you can use this knowledge to identify an unknown source. To begin this process, change Radiation source to the unknown source.
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The following data table leaves you more freedom to decide what tests you will run. Use what you learned in the previous parts to decide what tests will be most effective at helping you determine whether your unknown source is alpha, beta or gamma. You may or may not need to use all ten lines of the table.
Type of barrier Number of barriers Counts/30 seconds Counts/30 seconds
Compare the results for your unknown source to your results for alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Based on these data, what type of source is your unknown most likely to be?
Type of source (alpha, beta, or gamma) _______________________
Many smoke detectors contain a small amount of the isotope Americium-241, which emits alpha radiation. Should a person walking under such a smoke detector be concerned about being hit by the alpha particles? Explain your answer using something you learned in this lab. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the medical imaging procedure known as a PET scan (Positron Emission Tomography), positrons from a radioactive tracer strike electrons in the body’s tissues. This produces radiation, and this radiation is then observed using a detector outside the body. Based on this information, do you think the positron-electron collisions create alpha, beta, or gamma radiation? Explain your answer using something you learned in this lab. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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