Prospect or suspect – uranium mining in AustraliA
Activities
1. Graphing the amounts of uranium in different substances
2. Uranium, nuclear energy and radioactivity: library research
3. The advantages and disadvantages of enriching uranium within Australia
4. The three mines policy: arguments for and against
5. Factors to consider before opening a new mine
6. The implications of nuclear-free zones within Australia
7. Exporting uranium: a debate
8. Exploring uranium mining issues: a role-play
Other Activities
Cosmos teacher's notes (Australia)
Issue 14: The atom factory – presents a series of activities on nuclear reactors and energy.
(available to Cosmos subscribers by emailing teachers@cosmosmagazine.com)
Science upd8 (UK)
Nuclear power: The great debate – students examine the arguments and come to their own conclusions about the benefits and dangers of going nuclear.
Science NetLinks (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
Frosty the snowman meets his demise: An analogy to carbon dating – students use a simple graph to extrapolate data to its starting point.
Radioactive decay: A sweet simulation of a half-life – demonstrates that the rates of decay of unstable nuclei can be measured, that the exact time that a certain nucleus will decay cannot be predicted, and that it takes a very large number of nuclei to find the rate of decay.
Uranium: A Guide for Teachers & Students
An information and teaching resource compiled by the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy.
Page updated October 2008.