I'm working on the "Introduction to radioactivity and half-life experiment". It's harder than I thought. Any references that you know of that might make this easier to understand?

Answer 1

This reference may be useful.

(Broken Link Removed)

You may have some difficulty finding a radioactive source with a half-life short enough to measure. Most are used in nuclear medicine, with carefully limited distributiuon.

My son once did a science fair experient like yours, using wadded-up Coleman lantern mantles as a source. They contain radioactive thorium. The half life was too long to measure, so he tried to verify the inverse square law. He used a Heathkit Geiger counter that I once made and still have. Background radiation complicated the experiment.

He did not get an A, was not happy about that, and I have avoided giving Science Fair advice ever since. If you have some specific questions, we have several teachers here who will be glad to help.