There are a few patterns that are evident in nuclear energy. These are radioactive half-life and nuclear chain reaction.
Radioactive Half Life is a pattern of decay in a radioisotope. After two half-lives there is 1/4 of the amount of mass left and after three half-lives there is 1/8 the amount of mass/material left. This goes on and on. Every time a half-life occurs the amount of material/mass is half of what it was before.
Nuclear Chain Reaction is a continuous series of nuclear fission reactions. It is kind of like dominoes. When one falls over it reacts all of the other dominoes and they all topple over.
Click here to check out a cool video of a nuclear chain reaction.
Click here to check out a cool interactive activity involving nuclear chain reaction.
My sources were........
Radioactive Half Life. Feb. 28, 2008. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nuclear/halfli2.html
Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Interactions of Matter. Austin: A Harcourt Classroom Education Company, 2002.
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