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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kia ora Colleagues</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have been troubled for a while by the frequent
misconceptions my students have shown when discussing unstable nuclei.
They get very muddled up between unstable nuclei (that are radioactive) and the
less stable nuclei as shown on the nuclear binding energy curve.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It all boils down (well, not literally!) to the
fact that I haven't really taught them about nuclear stability. I have
taught them nothing about nuclear forces and particle physics and I am feeling
that I am doing them a diservice. I am very keen to find out what
colleagues in other schools teach, there is precious little in the texts that
are geared to NCEA. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I was browsing Wikipedia the other day and found <A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_energy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binding_energy</A> a
really straightforward explanation for the binding energy curve that I am
thinking that all our level 3 students should understand. For me it
makes it all make sense. Is it just me?</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kerry</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Correspondence
School</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>