... We found out the background radiation count per minute was 21.unts * We started the experiment by making sure the radioactive source was aligned with a ruler to the GM tube as accurately as possible so that the maximum radiation is measured * A set square was used to measure the exact point at which the source and tube were placed * The counter was reset each time so the counter read zero so this would reduce zero error in the experiment and the hold button was pressed to freeze the measurement * Thirty seconds were left between the start of the count and the recording so the reading would be less instantaneous and more reliable * Everything was kept constant for all three experiments and the counts were recorded at regular intervals of 5 cm. The safety precautions we took while performing this experiment included removing the sources from a secure wooden box using ...

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