Half-Life

Front

What is Half-Life?

Back

Half-Life is the time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay into a different substance.

Front

What is alpha decay?

Back

Alpha decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle, consisting of 2 protons and 2 neutrons, resulting in a new element.

Front

What is beta decay?

Back

Beta decay is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle (an electron or positron) is emitted from an atomic nucleus, transforming a neutron into a proton or vice versa.

Front

What percentage of the parent isotope remains after 2 Half-Lives?

Back

25% of the parent isotope remains after 2 Half-Lives.

Front

If an isotope has a Half-Life of 5 days, how much of the original sample remains after 15 days?

Back

After 15 days (which is 3 Half-Lives), 12.5% of the original sample remains.

Front

How do you calculate the number of Half-Lives that have passed?

Back

To calculate the number of Half-Lives that have passed, divide the total time elapsed by the Half-Life of the isotope.

Front

What happens to the amount of the parent isotope over time?

Back

The amount of the parent isotope decreases over time as it decays into daughter isotopes.

Front

What is a daughter isotope?

Back

A daughter isotope is the product of the decay of a parent isotope.

Front

If you start with 64 atoms of a parent isotope, how many will remain after 3 Half-Lives?

Back

After 3 Half-Lives, 8 atoms of the parent isotope will remain.

Front

What is the significance of Half-Life in dating materials?

Back

Half-Life is used in radiometric dating to determine the age of materials by measuring the remaining amount of parent isotopes.