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Lab 3: Radioactive decay – Geologic time

Background for radioactive decay
Half-Life
If two nuclei have different masses, but the same atomic number, those nuclei are considered to be
isotopes. Isotopes have the same chemical properties, but different physical properties. An example of
isotopes is carbon, which has three main isotopes, carbon-12, carbon-13 and carbon-14. All three
isotopes have the same atomic number of 6, but have different numbers of neutrons. Carbon-14 has 2
more neutrons than carbon-12 and 1 more than carbon-13, both of which are stable. Carbon-14 is
radioactive and undergoes radioactive decay.

Radioactive materials contain some nuclei that are stable and other nuclei that are unstable. Not all of
the atoms of a radioactive isotope (radioisotope) decay at the same time. Rather, the atoms decay at a
rate that is characteristic to the isotope. The rate of decay is a fixed rate called a half-life.

The half-life of a radioactive isotope refers to the amount of time required for half of a quantity of a
radioactive isotope to decay. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years, which means that if you take one
gram of carbon-14, half of it will decay in 5730 years. Different isotopes have different half-lives. The
half-life for 235U is about 700,000,000.

The decay of parent isotopes (=isotopes which decay over time) and the corresponding formation of
daughter isotopes is illustrated in the figure below.

The red dots symbolize the number of parent

Figure 1. change of parent istopes as a function of half-lives
isotopes and the grey dots symbolize the
daughter isotopes. At the starting point (t=0)
100 % = 100 red dots are present, but of
course no daughter isotope. However, after
1 half-life only 50 reds dots are left over
(parent isotopes) and 50 grey dots have been
produced (daughter isotopes). Then between
t=1 and t=2 only 50 parent isotopes can
decay into daughter isotopes. Hence at t=2
only 25 parent isotopes are left over (after 2
half-lives), but now 75 daughter isotopes
have been produced. This is because after 1
half-life 50 daughter isotopes were produced

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to which 25 daughter isotopes were added which decayed during the second half-life. If more than 2
half-lives have passed than these isotopes have to be added as well.

This decay can be expressed in the formula below

Equation 1

This expression is a function of the natural logarithm (ln). The ln(2) is approximately equal to 0.693. The
radioactive decay constant λ is isotope specific. The decay constant for 14C for λ is 0.000121 per year.

What is a logarithm?

Logarithm are another way of thinking about exponents. We can ask for example, how many times does
2 being multiplied by itself to gain 16, or 2x=16.

Of course, the answer is 4, because 2 * 2 * 2 * 2 = 24 = 16.

In general terms we could write

c
b =a ⟺ log b ( a )=c

In these equations b is called the base, c is the exponent, and a is the argument. Any number can be a
base. In case of the natural logarithm, the base is e. the number e is a constant that is approximately
equal to 2.718.

log e ( a ) =ln ( a )

In addition to the half-life formula (which is independent on the number of parent (N) and daughter (D)
isotopes, the following relationship is important.

D=N ( e λt −1 )
In this relationship is N the number of parent isotopes remaining at time t, No the number of parent
isotopes at the start of the decay (to), t the age of the reservoir and λ the decay constant.

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t=
ln ( D
N )
+1
Equation 2
λ

The decay constant λ for 14C for λ is 0.000121 per year.

This looks like a complicated formula, but if you measure the ratio between daughter (D) and parent (P)
isotopes and know the decay constant for an isotope system, you can easily obtain the age of the
reservoir. Most calculators have a ln button. This equation is very useful for the measuring of carbon
isotopes.

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Lab sheet
Part A: Radioactive decay
You are going to be simulating the radioactive decay of an unstable isotope. Any given atom of
that isotope has a 50% chance of decaying over the course one half-life (the duration of which is a
constant for any given isotope; i.e. about 5730 years for 14 C, about 700,000,000 years for 235U).
For this model, let’s assume that an M & M represents an atom. If the side showing the letter “m”
is up, the candy represents an undecayed atom of a radioactive isotope. If the blank side is up, it
represents a decayed atom (it has become another element). A half-life is a single trial (steps 2-5
below).

Objectives

 to understand the importance of the law of averages (thus sample size) on the proportion
of un-decayed-to-decayed atoms
 to observe that the effect of decay in reducing the population size limits the number of half-
lives to which the law of averages applies

Procedure

1) Count out 100 plain M&M’s that have one side showing the letter “m” and the other blank.
Unfit specimens with two “m” sides or two blank sides may be eaten at this point. Set all
100 sample M&M’s face up and graph the result as half-life 0 for the first trial. This
represents atoms of a radioactive isotope in an igneous rock at crystallization.

2) Put the 100 sample M&M’s into a cup and shake it (don’t let them escape).

3) Pour the contents of the cup out onto a white sheet of paper. Count the number of
“undecayed (parent) = M&Ms with M facing you” and put those (only those) back into the
cup. Place the decayed (daughter) M&Ms (the ones where the M is facing towards the table
surface) to the side

Take a picture of your M$Ms piles, insert this picture into the provided powerpoint file and
upload the powerpoint file to BBL after you inserted also the picture of the toilet paper
timescale (see below in Part B).

4) Record the number of “undecayed (parent)” M&Ms into the table on page 5 into the cell 1 st
Trial, 1st half-life. Type directly into the table in this worksheet on page 5.

5) Now repeat the procedure with the undecayed M&Ms you placed back into your cup. Shake
this cup again, pour M&Ms onto a white sheet, count the undecayed M&Ms, and type this
number into cell 1st trial, 2nd half-life.

7) Repeat until you have run out of “undecayed” M&M’s or until you have finished 10 half-lives.

8) Now start the 2nd trial by placing again all 100 M&Ms in your cup and repeat the procedure until
no undecayed M&Ms are left or you finished the 10th run for this 2nd trial.

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9) Repeat the whole experiment again in a third trial. You start again with 100 M&Ms in your cup
and shake and count until no undecayed M&Ms are left in your cup or you finished the 10 th.

10) Calculate the average number of M&Ms of your group for each run. The average value in a
set of numbers is the middle value, calculated by dividing the total of all the values by the
number of values. When you need to find the average of a set of data (in our case: the
values of each trial for a particular run) , you need to add up the three values for trial 1, 2
and 3 for a particular run and then divide this number by the number of values you added
up (= 3, because you have 3 trials). Please type your result directly into the table below.
Table 1. Results table for your M&M experiment

Half-lifes 1st Trial 2nd Trial 3rd Trial Average Probable

0 100 100 100 100 100
1 50 54 47 50.3 50
2 20 22 30 24 25
3 11 13 16 13.3 12.5
4 7 5 7 6.3 6.25
5 4 3 3 3.3 3.125
6 2 1 1 1.3 1.56
7 1 1 0 0.6 0.78
8 1 0 0 0.3 0.39
9 0 0 0 0 0.19
10 0 0 0 0 0.098

Part B: Geologic time

Background:
For humans, with lives generally less than 100 years in duration and a written history that spans a mere
2,000 years, geologic time is difficult to fathom. Very little in our daily lives requires us to think in terms
of millions, much less billions. Have you ever seen 1,000,000 people? 1,000,000 caribou? 1,000,000
mosquitoes? Few of us will ever possess $1,000,000 at one time. Even those who regularly deal with
million and billion dollar budgets find the numbers difficult to grasp; a recent, unofficial survey indicates
that the majority of U.S. congress members do not know how many million are in one billion (There are
1,000 million in a billion. That means 1,000,000,000 is one billion. Today’s exercise is designed to help
you envision the relative length between different events on earth using 46 sheets of the a toilet paper
role as a proxy for the Earth’s history. As you mark events on the toilet paper role as asked below, try to
envision the time between major events in earth’s history. A sense of the absolute is important to
understanding geologic processes, because events that are rare or extremely improbable on a human
time scale may be common or inevitable on a geologic time scale.

The toilet roll of time

Materials: Toilet paper roll, Pencil or Sharpies, EXCEL spreadsheet

To illustrate the time since the earth started to exist, we will use 46 sheets of a toilet paper role.

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 Each sheet of toilet paper roll represents 100,000,000 years.

 All toilet paper sheets should still be connected.
 Please write on each sheet a number: the first is 1, the 2nd sheet will be 2, the 3rd sheet will be
3…
 The egde of the first sheet (where no further sheet is connected too) is today. The transition
where the first sheet is connected to the second sheet represents 100,000,000 years. The
transition of the 2nd sheet to the 3rd sheet represents 200,000,000 years. And so on!
 Please mark only the dates of the events, which are written in italics and are underlined.
 Mark the events on the toilet paper sheets but draw a little line on the edge of the toilet paper
sheet.
 Toilet paper sheets are very flimsy. Hence, you just make a little line (marking) on the edge of
the toilet paper sheet. Do not try to write on the sheets.
 If you are afraid that the marking bleed through on your table or ground when marking the
toilet paper sheets, please place below the toilet paper sheet another piece of paper
(newspaper or so).
 Please take a picture of only the first toilet paper sheet once you marked all events.
 Where and how to mark events is explained in the video, but here is an example:
Assuming an event happened 175,000,000 years ago. As the outer edge of the first sheet
represents today, the transition between the 1st and the 2nd sheet represents 100,000,000 years
and the transition between the 2nd and the 3rd sheet represents 200,000,000 years, the marking
for 175,000,000 years needs to be on the 2nd sheet. As each sheet represents 100,000,000 years,
an event with an age of 175,000,000 can be thought of as 100,000,000 + 75,000,000 = 1 sheet +
75,000,000/100,000,000 sheet = 1 sheet + ¾ sheet. Hence, you need to make the marking at the
¾ length of the 2nd toilet paper sheet. The position of the marking does not need to be perfect
but close the correct position.
In the picture below, I additionally marked the transitions between the toilet paper sheets and
the time make it clearer, but you do not need to do this.

 If you have problems to figure out where you should place the marking for the events, you can
also use the provided EXCEL sheet, but you do not need to use it. Instructions on how to use the

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EXCEL sheet are given below the event table. But based on my experience from previous
semesters, most students do not need to use it.

Table 2. Event list

yrs before
Event present
Present 0
Modern man 10,000
Neanderthal man 100,000
First use of fire 500,000
Homo erectus 1,300,000
Linking of North and South America 1,500,000
Oldest stone tools 1,600,000
Australopithecus 3,000,000
Beginning of Antarctic ice caps 10,000,000
Opening of Red Sea 10,000,000
First evidence of ice at the poles 25,000,000
Collision of India with Asia 40,000,000
Start of global cooling (to present day) 40,000,000
Early horses 50,000,000
Separation of Australia and Antarctica 50,000,000
Early primates 57,000,000
Alps form 60,000,000
Dinosaurs became extinct 65,000,000
Rocky Mountains form 80,000,000
Early flowering plants 150,000,000
Early birds and mammals 180,000,000
Opening of Atlantic Ocean 200,000,000
First dinosaurs 215,000,000
Final assembly of Pangaea 280,000,000
Early trees, formation of coal deposits 318,000,000
Beginning of Carboniferous/Pennsylvanian period (end Mississippian) 320,000,000
First reptiles 340,000,000
First insects 400,000,000
Early land plants 450,000,000
Early fish 490,000,000
Early shelled organisms 544,000,000
Beginning of Cambrian period (end of Precambrian time) - rise of multicellular
organisms 544,000,000
Early multicelled organisms 700,000,000
Breakup of early supercontinent 800,000,000

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First known animals 1,200,000,000

Formation of early supercontinent (Rodinia) 1,400,000,000
2,700,000,00
Buildup of free oxygen in atmosphere 0
3,400,000,00
Early bacteria & algae 0
Oldest known Earth rocks 3,960,000,000
Beginning of Archeon Eon 4,000,000,000
Formation of Earth's atmosphere 4,200,000,000
Formation of the Moon 4,500,000,000
Precambrian time begins 4,600,000,000
4,600,000,00
Origin of earth 0

If you need to use the EXCEL sheet, here are the instructions:
In order to help you were to make the markings on the toilet paper roll, you can also use the EXCEL
spreadsheet provided on blackboard learn. Just open the EXCEL spreadsheet (you can also open the
same EXCEL spreadsheet in google sheets. It should work the same way).

 In order to calculate the number of toilet paper sheets you need to divide the time for a specific
event (“years before present”) by 4,600,000,000 (“age of the earth”) and multiply this total
number the sheets (“46”).
 As we already learned, you can use cells to do these calculations. For the first event listed you
should do this calculation in cell C4: “=B4/4,600000000*$C$2”. Type these formula exactly as
written into cell C4, but without the quotation marks. The $ sign in $C$2 mean that you fix a cell
when you copy this formula to another cell. That means when you copy the formula into
another cell, the formula will always contains the $C$2 value. However, as there a no $ signs
surrounding B4, this value will change.
 This first calculation in cell C4 will tell on which toilet paper sheet you have to make your
marking. Of course, the calculation for “present” equals to zero = edge of the first sheet of your
toilet paper role
 I imagine that you do not want to type this formula for every even listed. You can avoid this by
clicking on cell C4. You should see a little box on the bottom right corner of cell C4. Once you
move your curser on top of this little small box, your curser should change from a white to a
black (at least for a PC or Mac) handle. Once, you see this fill handle in black, click and drag
down until the end of the list. In this way you fill out all cells from C2 to the end. However, if
you have a lot of data and cells to fill there is an even easier options: Double click on the little
box and automatically all the cells will fill.
 Now the answer in column C is given as a fraction of a sheet(s).
 If you want to know to hoar far each event is removed from the present in inches, you have to
measure the length of one toilet paper sheet in inches and enter this number in cell D2.
 Once you know this number, you can create a new formula in cell D4: “=C4*$D$2”. Type this
formula in cell D4 again without quotation marks.

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 Again to fill all the values for all events, double click on the little box on the lower right hand
corner, or drag down to the end.

Now mark all events on the toilet paper roll and take a picture of the just the two first sheets of your
toilet paper timescale. Insert the picture again in the provided powerpoint file and upload the
powerpoint file which should contain both the M&M and the toilet paper sheet images to BBL

Assessment questions for A and B. Please answer the questions directly here in this word
document, because you upload this word document at the end.
1) Are the values for each trial and run listed in Table 1 very close to each other or are there large
differences? Describe, be specific for the different runs. Describe in relative terms and absolute terms.

- Beginning at the same in 0 half-life. At the 1 half-life, there is not much variation between them in
three trials (50, 54, 47) around 5% of change. At the 2 half-lives, it varies up to 10%. At the 3, 4, and 5
half-lives, it continued rises to 30% of change. Going to the 6 half-lives, it keeps increase at 50% because
it still has 1-2 parents’ isotopes remain.

2) The probable value column indicates the expected average number of remaining M&Ms if you do the
experiment repeatedly. The same percentage would be true if for isotope systems. Are you numbers
close to the probable numbers?

- The number of the average column is close to the probable numbers such as (50.3 ~ 50; 24~25, 12.3 ~
12.5)

3) Why don’t we use radiocarbon dating for dinosaur bones? To answer this, you have to remember
from the list when the last dinosaur lived on earth (dinosaurs got extinct) __65,000,000 years___.
Furthermore, look at your table 1 on page 5 and determine when the half-life at which your average
goes to zero. Multiply this half-live number at which the average reaches zero with the half-life for
carbon-14 (in bold on page 1) ____9 * 5730 = 51,570______.

 Is this number very similar to the age of the dinosaurs? Yes? No?
- No. The calculated number is not similar or close to the age of dinosaurs. It even differentiated
in the unit.

 Now, how many years can your maximal date into the past using Carbon-14? The answer to this
question is the same as the previous calculation, as you have shown with your experiment that
no M&Ms are left after so many half-lives. At this point no material is left to date. Hence again
you need to multiply number of half-lives at which no M&Ms are left with the half-life in years.

- 14C does not allow to measure 65,000,000 years into the past

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4) Assume you find a piece of wood floating in the ocean whose isotopic composition is 10,000,000 14C
isotopes and 1,000,000,000 14N isotopes. 14C decays into 14N.

a. how many parent isotopes are remaining?

- 10,000,000
b. how many daughter isotopes have formed?
- 1,000,000,000

c. What is the decay constant for 14C (find the number in the introduction on page 3 listed under
equation 2)?

The decay constant λ for 14C for λ is 0.000121 per year.

d. Calculate the age of the floating wood by using equation 2 (on page 3). You do not need to re-
arrange the formula, but only to enter the correct numbers into the formula.
 Remember N equals the remaining parent isotopes and D represents the daughter
isotopes.
 To calculate the age, you need a scientific calculator. For most phones (including
iphones), if you choose the calculator and then turn the phone sideways, the basic
calculator transforms into a scientific calculator.
 Now to calculate the age, you need at first to calculate (D/ N )+1, (Divide D by N, press
= on your calculator, press + 1, press =)
 then click the “ln” button on your calculator,
 and finally divide by the number for lambda (decay constant, λ see number in c).

- Age of the floating wood is 38141.4918745 years.

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5.) Find the events on your timescale related to the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs. Compare
this to the length of time that humans (including homo erectus) have walked the Earth. If success is
equivalent to longevity, dinosaurs have us beat (for now). Human history to date represents what
fraction of the dinosaurs’ rule? Show your work.

a. Amount of time that dinosaurs were alive and well on Earth: ____150______MY. This number is
the difference between the date when dinosaurs became extinct and when the first dinosaur
walked on earth.

b. Amount of time that has passed since our genus (Homo) evolved: _____1.5_______MY. This is
time when Homo erectus first walked on Earth.

c. Now compare the total life span of all dinosaurs to humans by dividing the total time dinosaurs
lived by the total time since the genus homo exists on earth. (dinosaurs over humans). Do the
calculation on your calculator.

_______100 times_________

d. Are the total time dinosaurs lived on earth longer or shorter than the time all homo species have
spent on earth?

- The time the dinosaurs lived on Earth was longer than the time all homo species have spent on
Earth.

6. After you answered all the questions, please save this document as Lab3_yourname and upload this
word document to Blackboard learn.

Do not forget to upload the picture of the M$Ms and the toilet paper roll as well.

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