Radium and radon in the environment

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/radium-and-radon-in-the-environment

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the radon's health impact?Radon is a significant environmental risk factor for lung cancer
2. What is radium and where does it come from?Radium is a solid metal that is made when uranium and thorium in rocks and soil break apart over very long times.
3. How does radon get into our homes?Radon is a gas that comes from radium in the ground. It can travel through cracks in soil and walls and enter houses.

Primordial Radionuclides: Radioactive isotopes that have existed since the formation of the Earth.
Radioactive Decay Chain: A series of radioactive transformations from one element to another.
Ionizing Radiation: Radiation with enough energy to remove electrons from atoms and molecules.