Nuclear Class Discussion: Constructing a Ranking System Nuclear PBL Day 5

Formal assessment – analyzing the students posters and ranking system Objectives Today I will be able to: Explain the radioactivity principles of a famous radioactivity accident Construct a ranking system to evaluate the devastation of the radioactive incidents Informal Assessment – monitoring student interactions as they participate in the discussion Formal assessment – analyzing the students posters and ranking system Common Core Connection Build Strong Content Knowledge Value Evidence Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

Lesson Sequence Evaluate: Warm-Up Elaborate: Finish Posters (10 minutes) Explore/Explain: Class Discussion Evaluate: Exit Ticket

Warm Up There are 4.5 grams of thorium-233 in a sample. If the original sample had a mass of 36.0 g, how old is the sample of thorium-233. Thorium-233 has a half-life of 22 minutes.

Warm Up Which type of radioactive decay (alpha, beta or gamma) can cause the most damage to humans? Which types of radiation emit particles? Which types or radiation emit rays? Take a set of 3 stickers on your way in! Do not lose them! 

Objective Today I will be able to: Explain the radioactivity principles of a famous radioactivity accident Construct a ranking system to evaluate the devastation of the radioactive incidents

Homework Study for radioactivity quiz Thursday, October 16 What is Radioactivity? What is Half-Life? Solve ½ life problems Types of particles/emissions Write Radioactive Decay Equations Fission vs. Fusion

Agenda Warm-Up Finish Posters Class Discussion Exit Ticket

Take 10 minutes to finish posters and hang up in room

Class Discussion

Read the General Information Section of Each Poster Part 1 (25 Minutes) Place the red sticker on the incident you believe is most devastating based on Radioactivity Principles alone

Read the Human Impact Section of Each Poster Part 1 (25 Minutes) Place the blue sticker on the incident you believe is most devastating based on human impact alone

Read the Environmental Impact Section of Each Poster Part 1 (25 Minutes) Place the green sticker on the incident you believe is most devastating based on environmental impact alone

Small Group Discussion 10 minutes Get into the new groups that Ms. Ose assigns to discuss the following questions

Small Group Discussion Construct a ranking system for the radioactive incidents (Least Devastating to most Devastating) Weigh out the impact of the human vs. environmental effects Write the criteria for your ranking system on a sheet of paper Ex. Come up with a scale On the bottom of the paper, rank all 7 incidents from the least devastating to the most

Class Discussion of Ranking System Group one will share out their ranking system and explain. Posters will be arranged. Other groups will talk about theirs is different and shift posters until we agree.

Class Discussion Questions What similarities and differences were there between each ranking system? Were there any radioactive incident posters that did not move. Why do you think they stayed in those positions? What factors seemed to play the most important role in constructing the ranking system?

Exit Ticket Further Questions Discussion: What other questions do you have about the impact (human, environmental, community, economic etc.) of radioactive incidents? The essential question that started this project was: "Nuclear power is a viable source of energy. How can we assess the impact of the potential environmental and human hazards associated with nuclear power use?" Do you think we came up with a method to assess the human and environmental hazards associated with nuclear power use? What factors do we need to be aware of if nuclear power is used in communities?