Mississippi Science PHY.6.4
The Standard
- PHY.6
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of nuclear energy.
Simulate the process of nuclear decay using online simulations and/or laboratory experiences and using mathematical computations determine the half-life of radioactive isotopes.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Nuclear Energy
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use a decay simulation or coin model to track how many nuclei remain over time. They find the half-life from the results and use repeated halving to calculate how much remains later.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can read a table or graph, find how long it takes for half the sample to remain, and use that time to make a prediction. They can explain why individual nuclei do not all decay on a schedule.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may subtract the same number each interval instead of halving the amount left. They may think every nucleus decays at the half-life mark or that the sample is gone after two half-lives.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A sample starts with 160 undecayed nuclei and has 20 after 18 minutes. What is its half-life? Show each halving.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Have pairs shake 100 pennies in a cup, remove heads after each toss, and graph the number left by round.
Ask, “Does a four-minute half-life mean every nucleus lasts four minutes?” Have students use their coin-toss results to explain.
Run an online decay simulator with 200 starting atoms; students record the count each minute and find the first halving time.
Give students a sealed medical tracer vial record with 80 counts per minute at noon and 10 at 6 p.m.; calculate its half-life.
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Printable PHY.6.4 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- PHY.6.3
Investigate the conservation of mass and the conservation of charge by writing and balancing nuclear decay equations for alpha and beta decay.
- PHY.6.1
Analyze and explain the concepts of nuclear physics.
- CHE.2.2
Construct models (e.g., ball and stick, online simulations, mathematical computations) of atomic nuclei to explain the abundance weighted average (relative mass...
- ESS.2B.3
Use mathematical concepts to calculate the absolute age of Earth materials using actual or simulated isotope ratios.
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