Half-life

Front

What is half-life?

Back

Half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

What is radioactive dating?

Back

Radioactive dating is a method of determining the absolute ages of rocks and other materials by measuring the decay of radioactive isotopes.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

Which radioactive isotope takes the greatest amount of time to undergo radioactive decay?

Back

Rubidium-87.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

If a rock sample has 12.5% of its original radioactive atoms remaining, how many half-lives have passed?

Back

3 half-lives.

Front

What is the half-life of a radioactive isotope if a 50-gram sample decays to 25 grams in 200 years?

Back

200 years.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

How do you calculate the remaining amount of a radioactive substance after a certain number of half-lives?

Back

Use the formula: Remaining amount = Initial amount × (1/2)^(number of half-lives).

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

What happens to the amount of radioactive material after each half-life?

Back

The amount of radioactive material is reduced by half after each half-life.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

What is the significance of the half-life in radioactive decay?

Back

The half-life helps determine the age of materials and the rate at which a radioactive substance decays.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

How can half-life be used in carbon dating?

Back

Half-life is used in carbon dating to estimate the age of organic materials by measuring the remaining carbon-14.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-6

Front

What is the relationship between half-life and stability of a radioactive isotope?

Back

Generally, isotopes with longer half-lives are more stable than those with shorter half-lives.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8