BRA Pre-Lab
INCLUDE THIS SHEET AS THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR REPORT.
Before the 1st Day of Lab
Student's Name: ______________________________________________________________
Partner's Name: ______________________________________________________________
Pre-lab Discussion Questions
It is your responsibility to discuss this lab with an instructor before your first day of your scheduled lab period. This signed sheet must be included as the first page of your report. Without it you will lose grade points. You should be prepared to discuss at least the following before you come to lab:
Watch the Beta Ray & Error Analysis video with these questions at hand.
- What are Beta Rays? How are they produced?
- How is radioactive decay related to nuclear binding energy?
- What is the half-life of Cs137 and what are the decay modes of this nucleus? Sketch the two beta-decay distributions of Cs137. Qualitatively explain their general shapes and relative sizes. Indicate the maximum energy of each distribution
- What is the "internal conversion process" and how does atomic electronic binding play a role in the electron's final kinetic energy?
- What is a Fermi-Kurie plot, and why do you need to use it ?
- What does the Beta-ray spectrometer measure, and how does it measure it?
- Identify and describe the operation of each of the pieces of experimental apparatus: source, coils, preamp, amp, SCA, etc.
Staff Signature ______________________________________________ Date ____________
Completed before the first day of lab? (circle) Yes / No
Mid-lab Questions
On day 2 of this lab, you should have taken several quick spectra and determined an appropriate setting of the discriminator’s baseline parameter. Demonstrate and show the spectra to an instructor and ask for a signature.
Staff Signature ______________________________________________ Date ____________
Completed by the second day of lab? (circle) Yes / No