Half Life - Radioactivity

Front

What is Half Life in radioactivity?

Back

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

Front

What percentage of the parent isotope remains after 1 Half Life?

Back

50% of the parent isotope remains after 1 Half Life.

Front

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

Back

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

Front

What percentage of the parent isotope remains after 3 Half Lives?

Back

12.5% of the parent isotope remains after 3 Half Lives.

Front

What is a parent isotope?

Back

A parent isotope is an unstable radioactive atom that decays into a daughter isotope.

Front

What is a daughter isotope?

Back

A daughter isotope is the stable or unstable product formed from the decay of a parent isotope.

Front

What is the significance of Half Life in radioactive dating?

Back

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

Front

If a sample has a Half Life of 3 days, how much of the original sample remains after 6 days?

Back

After 6 days (2 Half Lives), 25% of the original sample remains.

Front

What happens to the amount of parent isotope over successive Half Lives?

Back

The amount of parent isotope decreases by half with each Half Life.

Front

How do you calculate the remaining percentage of a parent isotope after multiple Half Lives?

Back

Remaining percentage = (1/2)^n * 100%, where n is the number of Half Lives.