Polyhedra as an Educational Tool for studying the concepts of half-life and radioactive decay
This article proposes an educational product to introduce the concept of half-life in the process of radioactive decay. It is a subject that is difficult for primary school students to understand due to its abstract nature and the impossibility of carrying out practical experiments in the classroom....
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Institución: | Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Amazonas (IFAM) |
| Repositorio: | Educitec |
| Idioma: | portugués |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:sistemascmc.ifam.edu.br:article/2567 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://sistemascmc.ifam.edu.br/educitec/index.php/educitec/article/view/2567 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | ensino da física, modelagem matemática, meia-vida, radioatividade physics education, mathematical modeling, half-life, radioactivity. enseñanza de la física, modelización matemática, vida media, radiactividad. |
| Sumario: | This article proposes an educational product to introduce the concept of half-life in the process of radioactive decay. It is a subject that is difficult for primary school students to understand due to its abstract nature and the impossibility of carrying out practical experiments in the classroom. To overcome these limitations, we developed a proposal for an educational product based on simulation, using polyhedra as a representation of unstable atoms in the decay process. This methodology seeks to make the concept of half-life more tangible and accessible to students, promoting a practical and visual understanding of the probability of radioactive decay and stimulating learning by mobilizing operative invariants. The proposal also explores the potential of polyhedra as a teaching resource to answer the following research question: “Does the use of simulations with polyhedra contribute to a deeper understanding of the concepts of half-life and radioactive decay among primary school students?”. The work was implemented in a first-year high school class at a state public school. The results indicate that the polyhedron simulation could address complex topics such as radioactivity. In addition, we observed that polyhedra mobilized operative invariants, helping to construct meanings for these concepts. The activity also generated greater student engagement and participation, demonstrating that simulation is an enriching proposal for teaching abstract topics in Physics in Basic Education. |
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