Archived Problems
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General
Unit
Conversion Exercises [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11
Radiation dosages and exposure
calculations allow students to compare several
different ways that scientists use to compare how
radiation exposure is delivered and accumulated over
time.Like converting 'centimeters per sec' to
'kilometers per year' ,this activity reinforces student
skills in converting from one set of units to
another.
[Skills: fractions,
decimals, units]
An
Introduction to Space Radiation [PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 Read about your natural
background radiation dosages, learn about Rems and
Rads, and the difference between low-level dosages and
high-level dosages. Students use basic math operations
to calculate total dosages from dosage rates, and
calculating cancer risks.
[Skills: Reading to be Informed, decimals,
fractions, square-roots]
Some
Puzzling Thoughts about Radiation![PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 Students fill-in the blanks
in an essay on radiation risks using a word bank tied
to solving quadratic equations to find the right words
from a pair of possible 'solutions'.
[Skills: Finding the roots of a quadratic
equation, solving for X ]
Correcting
Bad Data Using Partity Bits[PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 Students will see how
computer data is protected from damage by radiation
'glitches' using a simple error-detection method
involving the parity bit. They will reconstruct an
uncorrupted sequence of data by checking the '8th bit'
to see if the transmitted data word has been corrupted.
By comparing copies of the data sent at different
times, they will reconstruct the uncorrupted data.
[Skills: addition, subtraction,
comparing the numbers 1 and 0 ]
A
Study on Astronaut Radiation Dosages in Space [PDF] -
Grade level: 9-11 Students will
examine a graph of the astronaut radiation dosages for
Space Shuttle flights, and estimate the total dosages
for astronauts working on the International Space
Station.
[Skills:Graph analysis,
interpolation, unit conversion]
Are
the Van Allen Belts Really Deadly? [PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 This problem explores the
radiation dosages that astronauts would receive as they
travel through the van Allen Belts enroute to the Moon.
Students will use data to calculate the duration of the
trip through the belts, and the total received dosage,
and compare this to a lethal dosage to confront a
misconception that Apollo astronauts would have
instantly died on their trip to the Moon.
[Skills: decimals, area of rectangle,
graph analysis]
Radon
Gas in the Basement [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11
This problem introduces students to a
common radiation problem in our homes. From a map of
the United States provided by the US EPA, students
convert radon gas risks into annual dosages.
[Skills: Unit conversion, arithmetic
operations]
Single
Event Upsets in Aircraft Avionics[PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 Radiation is problem for
high-altitude commercial and research aircraft. Showers
of high-energy neutrons cause glitches in computer
electronics and other aircraft systems. This problem
investigates the neutron background radiation at 30,000
to 100,000 feet based on actual flight data, and has
students calculate how many computer memory glitches
will happen over a set amount of flight time.
[Skills: decimals, unit conversions,
graph analysis]
Background
Radiation and Lifestyles [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11
Living on Earth, you will be subjected
to many different radiation environments. This problem
follows one person through four different possible
futures, and compares the cumulative lifetime
dosages.
[Skills: fractions,
decimals, unit conversions]
A
Perspective on Radiation Dosages [PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 Depending on the kind of
career you chose, you will experience different
lifetime radiation dosages. This problem compares the
cumulative dosages for someone living on Earth, an
astronaut career involving travel to the Space Station,
and the lifetime dosage of someone traveling to Mars
and back.
[Skills: decimals,
unit conversions, graphing a timeline, finding areas
under curves using rectangles]
A
Hot Time on Mars [PDF] - Grade level: 9-11
The NASA Mars Radiation Environment
(MARIE) experiment has created a map of the surface of
mars, and measured the ground-level radiation
background that astronauts would be exposed to. This
math problem lets students examine the total radiation
dosage that these explorers would receive on a series
of 1000 km journeys across the martian surface. The
students will compare this dosage to typical background
conditions on earth and in the International Space
Station to get a sense of perspective
[Skills: decimals, unit conversion,
graphing and analysis ]
Calculating
Total Radiation Dosages at Mars [PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 This problem uses data from
the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE) which
is orbiting Mars, and measures the daily radiation
dosage that an astronaut would experience in orbit
around Mars. Students will use actual plotted data to
calculate the total dosage by adding up the areas under
the data curve. This requires knowledge of the area of
a rectangle, and an appreciation of the fact that the
product of a rate (rems per day) times the time
duration (days) gives a total dose (Rems), much like
the product of speed times time gives distance. Both
represent the areas under their appropriate curves.
Students will calculate the dosages for cosmic
radiation and solar proton flares, and decide which
component produces the most severe radiation
problem.
[Skills: decimals,
area of rectangle, graph analysis]
Shielding
An
Introduction to Radiation Shielding [PDF] - Grade
level: 9-11 Students calculate how
much shielding a new satellite needs to replace the ISO
research satellite. Students use a graph of the wall
thickness versus dosage, and determine how thick the
walls of a hollow cubical satellite have to be to
reduce the radiation exposure of its electronics.
Students calculate the mass of the satellite and the
cost savings by using different shielding.
[Skills: Algebra, Volume of a hollow cube, unit
conversion]
Atmospheric Shielding from Radiation- III [PDF] - Grade
level: 9-11 This is Part III of a
3-part problem on atmospheric shielding. Students use
exponential functions to model the density of a
planetary atmosphere, then evaluate a definite integral
to calculate the total radiation shielding in the
zenith (straight overhead) direction for Earth and
Mars.
[Skills: Evaluating an integral,
working with exponential functions]
Atmospheric
Shielding from Radiation- II [PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 This is the second of a
three-part problem dealing with atmospheric shielding.
Students use the formula they derived in Part I, to
calculate the radiation dosage for radiation arriving
from straight overhead, and from the horizon. Students
also calculate the 'zenith' shielding from the surface
of Mars.
[Skills: Algebra I,
evaluating a function for specific
values]
Atmospheric
Shielding from Radiation- I [PDF] - Grade level:
9-11 This is the first part of a
three-part problem series that has students calculate
how much radiation shielding Earth's atmosphere
provides. In this problem, students have to use the
relevant geometry in the diagram to determine the
algebraic formula for the path length through the
atmosphere from a given location and altitude above
Earth's surface.
[Skills: Algebra II,
trigonometry]
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