Activity
In this activity, you'll simulate how a group of carbon-14 atoms behaves as it decays into nitrogen-14. First, go to the
simulation Radioactive Dating Game e, which condenses tens of thousands of years into a few seconds. Then follow
these steps:
1. Click Half Life.
2. Click Reset All near the bottom-right corner of the screen to return all settings to default.
3. Click the Play/Pause button to start and stop the simulation at any time.
4. Drag carbon-14 atoms from the bucket and place them in the work area.
5. Watch as they decay into their daughter isotopes. The yellow chart at the top of the simulation shows the time it
takes for each atom to decay from carbon-14 into nitrogen-14.
Now, answer the following questions.
Part A
Click Reset All. Add 10 atoms to the simulation, and run the simulation at least five times. What differences did you see
each time you ran the simulation?