======Simulating Radioactive Decay with Dice======


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**Materials: **{{$demo.materials_description}}\\
**Difficulty: **{{$demo.difficulty_description}}\\
**Safety: **{{$demo.safety_description}}\\
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**Categories:** {{$demo.categories}}
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**Alternative titles:** Modeling Half-Life with Dice
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====Summary====                   
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====Procedure====  
  - Begin with 100 dice, each representing a radioactive nucleus.  
  - Roll all the dice at once.  
  - Remove any dice that show a 6, as these represent nuclei that have decayed.  
  - Record the number of dice that remain undecayed.  
  - Repeat the rolling, removing, and recording process multiple times until few or no dice remain.  
  - Plot the number of remaining dice after each roll to show the decay curve.


====Links==== 
Simulating Radioactive Decay - QuantumBoffin: 
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Simulating Radioactive Decay With Dice - Physics Experiment - vt.physics: 
{{youtube>ekVI83tigEo?}}\\

📄 Decay with dice worksheet - Spice: [[https://www.uwa.edu.au/study/-/media/faculties/science/docs/activity-decay-with-dice.pdf]]\\

📄🕹️ Half-Life Simulation - Alyssa J. Pasquale, Ph.D.: [[https://doctor-pasquale.com/simulations/halfLife.html]]\\



====Variations====
  * Start with more or fewer dice to compare results.  
  * Use different rules, such as removing dice on both 5s and 6s, to simulate isotopes with different decay probabilities.  
  * Conduct the experiment with groups and compare decay curves to see variability in results.



====Safety Precautions====
  * No specific safety equipment required.  
  * Ensure dice are not thrown forcefully to avoid damage or injury.




====Questions to Consider====
  * Why is the decay of each nucleus considered random? (Because quantum processes that determine decay cannot be predicted for an individual nucleus.)  
  * Why does the overall decay follow a predictable pattern despite randomness? (Large numbers of nuclei average out to produce a consistent exponential decay.)  
  * What does the number of dice removed each round represent in terms of radioactive decay? (It represents the number of nuclei that decayed in that time interval.)  
  * How does this model illustrate the concept of half-life? (The time it takes for about half of the dice to be removed corresponds to the half-life of the sample.)