NEW ELEMENT DISCOVERED: TWIZZLERIUM-200 ISOTOPE

A Model for Radioactive Decay & Half-life

INTRODUCTION
Absolute Dating is the process of establishing the age of an object by determining the number of
years it has existed. To determine the age of an artifact, like a rock, scientists have to analyze the
artifacts Radioactive Isotopes and their speed of Radioactive Decay. Carbon-14, Uranium-238, and
Potasium-40 are all radioactive isotopes. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same
number of protons but have different numbers of neutrons. Some isotopes are unstable, or radioactive,
and these isotopes decay, or break down, in an attempt to become more stable. Carbon is an example of
an element that can have three isotopes, C12, C13, and C14. Radioactive Carbon-14 has 6 protons and
8 neutrons, while stable Carbon-12 has 6 protons and 6 neutrons.

How many protons and neutrons are in the C13 isotope?

____P and

____N

How can radioactive isotopes help determine an objects absolute age? Well, each radioactive
isotope has a unique Half-life, which is the time it takes for one half of the radioactive parent material to
decay into its stable daughter material. For instance, Carbon-14, which is radioactive, decays into
Nitrogen-14, its daughter isotope. The time it takes for one half of a sample of Carbon-14 to decay into
Nitrogen-14 is about 5,730 years. This is the half-life of Carbon-14. One way that scientists are able to
determine the half-life of radioactive isotopes is by studying the amount of radiation they emit. This
corresponds to how fast the isotope is decaying, or its half-life. Listed below are the half-life times for
three radioactive isotopes.

Stable
Daughter
Material

Half-life
Material
Dated

Radioactive
Carbon-14
Nitrogen-14

Radioactive
Potassium-40
Argon-40

Radioactive
Uranium-238
Lead-206

5,730 years
Organic material
younger than
50,000 years old

1.3 Billion years

Igneous rocks older
than 100,000 years
old

4.5 Billion Years

Rocks and fossils
more than 10 million
years old

Figure 1: Half-life & other information for Radioactive Isotopes

In this lab, you are going to model the process of radioactive decay using a Twizzler.
Imagine that the Twizzler is a radioactive isotope called Twizzlerium-200. Over time,
Twizzlerium-200 decays into the stable daughter isotope, Chewed-15, in your
stomach. Twizzlerium-200 has a half-life of 30 seconds. This means, every 30
seconds, half of the Twizzler (parent) will decay (turn into) Chewed Twizzler (in your
stomack). Knowing this, you will be able to model the radioactive decay of this
isotope and make a graph of its half-life curve.
PROCEDURE
1.

Lay the piece of Twizzlerium-200 at the half-life position 0 on the X-Axis and record its starting

length at the X-Y intercept. (Measure how high on the Y axis the top of your Twizzler is)
2. Twizzlerium-200 has a half-life of 30 seconds. Begin the radioactive decay process of Twizzlerium200. Use the clock and the ruler to make sure you eat half of the Twillerium-200 sample every 30
seconds while recording the length at the X-Y intercept after the passing of each half-life.
3. Connect the dots on the graph with a curve rather than a straight line.
4. Answer all the conclusion questions

Length of Twizllerium-200

Twizzlerium-200 Half-life Graph

Half-life Number

TWIZZLERIUM-200 Half-life Lab

Conclusion Questions: Use the information from the introduction and your graph to answer all
of the questions below. Please answer the questions in complete sentences.
1.

What is an isotope? _____________________________________________________________

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2. Name at least two radioactive isotopes that are used for radiometric dating ___________________
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3. What is a half-life? ______________________________________________________________
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4. What is the half-life for Twizzlerium-200? ____________________________________________
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5. What is the half-life for C14, Potasium-40, and Uranium-238? ____________________________
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YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE COMPLETE SENTENCES FOR #6 THROUGH #11.
6. If there is 1/2 Twizzlerium-200 left how many half-lives occurred?_________ Seconds? _______
7. If there is 1/4 Twizzlerium-200 left how many half-lives occurred?_________ Minutes? _______
8. If there is 1/8 Twizzlerium-200 left how many half-lives occurred?_________ Minutes? _______
9. If there is 1/16 Twizzlerium-200 left how many half-lives occurred?________ Minutes? _______
10. If you have a 100-foot piece of Twizzlerium-200, how many feet would be left after 2 minutes?
(Round decimal answers to the hundredths)

______________________________ feet.
How many feet would be left after 3 minutes? _______________________ feet.
11. If you have 10 grams of C14 in a sample, how much would be left after 5,730 years? _________
12. In your own words, explain how scientists can use radioactive isotopes to determine the absolute
age of rocks.
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YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE COMPLETE SENTENCES FOR #13 OR #14.
13. If 200 = the Atomic Mass for Twizzlerium-200, and it has 90 protons, how many neutrons does it
have? ______________________ (Hint: Atomic Mass = Protons + Neutrons)
14. If 238 is the atomic mass for Uranium-238, how many Protons and Neutrons does it contain?
(Hint: U 238s Atomic Number is 92)

Protons: ______________ Neatrons: ______________

15. If a rock is found to have equal parts Uranium-238 to Lead-206, how old is the rock? Please
explain your answer (HINT: Use the information on the front of the lab sheet).
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