April 24 Thursday
Absolute age dating M&M lab
Rubric
Lab Instructions
M unstable parent atoms Go back in cup Graph in blue
No writing stable daughter atoms Move to daughter sheet Graph in red
You will have 2 pieces of paper. Label one “parent” and one “daughter”. Empty the M&Ms from the cup onto the parent paper. Move the daughter M&Ms (no writing) to the “daughter” paper. Fill out the Data Table for that turn. Place the parent M&Ms back in the cup and shake again.
You will plot the time in terms of half lives (number). The proportion of parent and daughter atoms will be plotted on the same graph. Graph the parent atoms in blue and the daughter atoms in red. Look at the graphs on the second page for guidance on graphing.
The instructions reference green peas, but we are not using those.
#2 should say, “The candy without writing represents ______________________________.