Students' Beliefs About the Role of Atoms in Radioactive Decay and Half-life
Edward Prather September, 2005 Journal of Geoscience Education Volume 53, Number 4, p345

This article from the Journal of Geoscience Education addresses the common difficulties that students experience when trying to learn about radiation and radioactivity. By identifying inaccurate ideas and reasoning difficulties on the topics of ionizing radiation, radioactivity and radioactive decay that interfere with students' understanding of how half-life is used to determine geologic time, the author feels teachers can design more effective learning strategies.

Subject: Education, Geoscience:Geology:Geochemistry:Radioisotopes, Geoscience:Geology:Sedimentary Geology
Resource Type: Pedagogic Resources:Research Results, Opinion, Scientific Resources:Overview/Reference Work, Journal Article
Research on Learning: Cognitive Domain:Misconceptions/barriers to learning, Geoscience Expertise:Geologic Time
Theme: Teach the Earth:Course Topics:Geochemistry, Sedimentary Geology