Maggie Bailey March 19, 2013 Chemistry/Lab

Data Tables

Distance (cm)

5 Alpha (cpm) -9 Beta (cpm) 95 Fiestaware (cpm) 119

10 -17 111 79

15 -17 127 67

20 -13 59 63

25 -1 23 19

Amount of Radiation Involving Distance of Shields Away from Radiation Detecor

200

150

cpm of Radiation

100 Alpha (cpm) Beta (cpm) 50 Fiestaware (cpm)

0 control -50 acrylic wood Cu Al

Distance away the Shields are placed from Radiation

Type of Shields control -17 111 79 acrylic 11 23 7 wood -1 31 4 Cu -1 107 67 Al -1 167 71 Pb 23 15 59

Alpha (cpm) Beta (cpm) Fiestaware (cpm)

Amount of Radiation Involving Types of Shields

200

150

Radiation Counts (cpm)

100 Alpha (cpm) Beta (cpm) 50 Fiestaware (cpm)

0 control acrylic wood Cu Al

-50

Type of Shield

Layers of Shielding Contr ol -13 167 79 Acryli c1 -21 23 3 Acryli c2 3 7 11 Wood Wood Cu 1 1 2 -5 15 -1 -13 -1 15 -1 -9 15 Cu 2 11 -5 11 Al 1 -1 -9 7 Al 2 -29 11 15 Pb 1 -1 -1 -5 Pb 2 -17 3 -5

Alpha (cpm) Beta (cpm) Fiestaware (cpm)

Layers of Shields
200

Radiation Counts (cpm)

150

100 Alpha (cpm) Beta (cpm) 50 Fiestaware (cpm)

-50

Type of Shield

Questions
1. The single piece of shield material that was most effective in reducing the intensity of each type of radiation was the alpha. 2. The three sources in order of penetrating power is a. Alpha gave off radiation but not even close to how many cpm Beta and Fiestaware gave off (see graphs) b. Beta (2) set off the most radiation due to the high cpm (see graphs) c. Fiestaware (3) set off a fair amount of cpm but a little less than Beta (see graphs) 3. Based on the shielding materials I used, Pb (Lead) seems to be the most effective in blocking radiation. The cpm count for even Fiestaware and Beta are extremely low compared to the other materials. The least effective appears to be Copper. Copper was always one of the materials that had the most counts per minute, in every trial that it was used. 4. The properties of the material that appear to affect its radiation shielding ability is the density. The denser the material is, the harder it is for radiation to pass through it. 5. Distance affects the intensity of each type of radiation because it will take longer to pass through the material. Especially if the material is dense, it will have to travel a far distance and try to pass through the material. It will probably make it not as strong. 8. When I have a dental X-ray the material that I become shielded with is a lead vest. My lab reports support this because lead was the most effective and had the lowest cpm count.

9. The type of nuclear radiation from a source outside the body that is most likely to be the most dangerous to a living organism is UV rays since they can cause cancer, and damage your skin and other parts of your body permanently. 10. The type of nuclear radiation from a source inside the body that is likely to be the most dangerous to a living organism is Gamma since the gamma rays can penetrate everything except concrete or lead surfaces. Also they move very fast.