Republic Central Colleges

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EARTH SCIENCE
                                              1 Semester, School Year 2022-2023
st

Experiment 2: Just Shake! Shake! Shake! (Radioactive dating model)

Introduction: A rock or fossil may be dated by measuring the relative amount of a stable element with its
radioactive parent element. As the rock ages, the amount of radioactive element becomes less and the amount
of stable element increases. Examine the graph to see the decrease of a radioactive element over time.

Materials

• 100 pieces one-peso coin

• Cardboard box/any box with lid

• Pencil

Procedure:

1. Place 100 pieces of one-peso coins facing up in the cardboard box and cover the cardboard box with the
lid.
2. Shake the coins in the box for 10 seconds.
3. Take off the lid and take out all coins that are facing down.
4. As you take the coins out, do not put the coins back in the cardboard box
5. In the observation table, record the number of coins facing down that you take out from the box.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5. Do it until there is no coins facing up upon shaking.
7.
8. Next, construct a graph your recorded data. On the y-axis plot the number of coins facing up. And on
the x-axis, put the number of trials or times you shake the box.
Data and Results

Observation Table 

Trial 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number 100 57 31 12 5 3 2 2 1 1 0
of coins
remaining

Number 0 43 26 19 7 2 1 0 1 0 0
of coins
removed
Conclusion:

The purpose of this experiment is to earn a better understanding of radioactive

decay. In this experiment, if coins are facing up or heads have decayed and removed
from the box, the coins facing downward are still radioactive. In every trial, about
half the number of coins are decayed and taken off the container. The data shows
the number of removed and remaining coins after many trials. All coins got decayed
and removed after ten trials. If we repeat this experiment, we will get different
numbers or data, but we will get the same curve or the half-life curve when we
graph the data.

Post-laboratory questions:
1. What happens to the number of coins remaining after each trial?
- The coins remained are still radioactive and have not decayed yet, and the number
of remaining coins decreased after each trial because the coins decayed after each
trial. In every trial, about half the number of coins are decayed and taken off the
container.

2. How this model is similar to the decay of a radioactive element?

- This model is similar to the decay of a radioactive element because of the graph
and data. It is similar to the half-life curve when we graph both. The data of my
experiment and the decay of a radioactive element are similar in terms of the
numbers and variables every trial is nearly halved.

3. Why do you think radioactive decay is considered more accurate than other
dating methods calculated from the fossil beds?
- Radioactive decay is considered more accurate than other dating methods
because of the exactness of its rate of decay.

4. Why there are different radioactive elements used to date rocks and fossils?
- There are different radioactive elements used to date rocks and fossils because of
their uniqueness in decay rate. There are different radio elements because not all
rocks are the same when in terms of their ages, and we cannot use radioactive
elements in all rocks and fossils.