You are exposed to normal doses of gamma rays from the atmosphere.
Gamma rays are an invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. They consist of high-energy photons and can pass through many types of material, including human tissue. Gamma rays are used in nuclear medicine for treating cancer, and also in many industrial applications, including food processing, but overexposure can cause "radiation sickness." Teach your students the science behind gamma rays and how this radiation can affect humans.
Radiation Sickness
Radiation sickness is damage caused to the body by a large dose of radiation, especially when administered over a short period of time. Ask your students what they think radiation sickness is, and hold a discussion that may involve your students' perception of radiation sickness as it is depicted in movies and TV shows. Discuss the various sources of radiation can cause sickness, and introduce the topic of overexposure to gamma ray radiation.
Symptoms of Radiation Sickness
Give your students preprinted photos from the Internet of both mild and severe cases of radiation sickness. Have students take notes on the symptoms of radiation sickness, while you write on the blackboard or overhead projector symptoms of mild radiation sickness in one column, and severe radiation sickness in the second column. Explain that radiation sickness as a result of overexposure to gamma rays, or from other sources of high-intensity radiation, can first manifest itself with nausea and vomiting. Diarrhea, headache and fever follow in severe cases, followed by dizziness and disorientation, sickness and fatigue, and then, within one to four weeks, hair loss, bloody vomit and stools, infections, poor wound healing and low blood pressure.
Level of Radiation
Explain the scale that measures the body's level of radiation. A gray, abbreviated as Gy, is the unit of measurement used to refer to the absorbed dose level of radiation. Write the term "gray (Gy)" on the board or overhead projector as students take notes. Explain that a safe level is 0.1 Gy, and unsafe is 1 Gy and higher; a lethal level is 6 Gy of radiation exposure. Question students on specific questions related to the Gray scale and their understanding of the subject.
Sources of Radiation Poisoning
Have students pass around preprinted pictures of healthy cells and cancerous cells. Ask students to write down their observations about the difference between cancerous and healthy cells. Explain that gamma rays can kill living cells, which is why they are used in nuclear medicine to kill cancerous cells. Have students research how improperly administered radiation therapy can result in sickness, as well as how nuclear radiation from nuclear power accidents and detonation of atomic weapons can cause radiation sickness. Have students prepare a 300-word essay in class on the effects of radiation poisoning. For homework, have students provide three examples of nonharmful natural sources of gamma ray radiation, with two sentences explaining each example.
Tags: radiation sickness, your students, Explain that, gamma rays, Have students, level radiation
