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Half life calculations

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 28mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
What is Half-life?
a)
The amount of time it takes for some of the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to decay
b)
The amount of time it takes for half the electrons in a sample of the isotope to decay
c)
The amount of time it takes for half the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to decay
d)
the amount of time it takes to double the nuclei in a sample of the isotope to decay
2.
What is the half-life of iodine-131?
a)
32 days
b)
8 days
c)
16 days
d)
24 days
3.

After 22,800 years, approximately what percentage of the original carbon-14 remains?

a)

15%

b)

12.5%

c)

6.25%

d)

3.125%

4.

The % of the parent isotope remaining after 1 Half Life.

a)

50%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

6.25%

5.

The % of the parent isotope remaining after 2 Half Lives.

a)

50%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

6.25%

6.

The diagram shows 32 atoms

32 of the Red are the parent isotope

0 of the atoms are daughter isotopes

How many half-lives have occurred?

a)

0

b)

1

c)

2

d)

3

7.

The diagram shows 32 atoms.

16 of the Red are parent isotopes

16 of the Green are daughter isotopes

How many half-lives have occurred?

a)

0

b)

1

c)

2

d)

3

8.

What is the Half life of this isotope?

a)

5 seconds

b)

10 seconds

c)

15 seconds

d)

20 seconds

9.

What is the Half Life of this isotope?

a)

3 days

b)

5 days

c)

8 days

d)

10 days

10.
Imagine you have 50,000 atoms of uranium-238. If U-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, how many U-238 atoms will be left after 4.5 billion years? 
a)
25,000
b)
50,000
c)
12,500
d)
0
11.
You have 100 grams of radioactive C-14. The half life of C-14 is 5730 years. 
How many grams are left after 1 half life? 
a)
100 grams
b)
25 grams
c)
2 grams
d)
50 grams
12.
When nuclei decay, massive amounts of __________ is released.
a)
energy
b)
jello
c)
protons
d)
neutrons
13.

Why do some elements have half-lives?

a)

they radioactively decay

b)

half of their atom gets stolen

c)

They are Twizzlers that break in half

14.

Radioactive carbon-14 is often useful in determining the absolute age of geologic samples because radioactive isotopes

a)

decay at a regular rate

b)

become less stable during decay

c)

remain unchanged over time

d)

stabilize after four half-lives

15.

Which diagram best represents the percentage of this radioactive isotope sample that will remain after 2 half-lives?

a)
b)
c)
d)
16.

The Half Life of Californium 252 is 5 years.

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

17.
An isotope of an element has the same number of _________, but a different number of _________.
a)
Protons, electrons
b)
Protons, neutrons
c)
Electrons, neutrons
18.

The mass of a parent isotope is 100 g. How many grams of the parent isotope will remain after 2 half-lives?

a)

25

b)

50

c)

12.5

d)

0

19.

A 50.0 g sample of a radioactive element has a half-life of 40 years. How much mass will be left after 80 years?

a)

50

b)

25

c)

12.5

d)

6.25

20.

How long would it take for an element with a half-life of 100 years to reach 5 half-lives?

a)

50

b)

500

c)

5000

d)

5