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As the temperature of a radioactive sample increases the rate of the nuclear decay?
It stays the same. Temperature has no effect on the rate of nuclear decay.
Are radioactive dating and radioactive decay the same?
Flying a kite is not the same as the wind blowing, but you need one for the other. Radioactive decay is not the same as radioactive dating, but you need the decay to get the date. Radioactive isotopes each of a characteristic decay rate and if one knows the amount of such an isotope in an object when it was created, the level of radioactivity decreases predictably with age and one can calculate the age by knowing the decrease. Radioactive decay is good for a lot of other things too, just like the wind.
Is radioactive decay and nuclear decay the same?
yep, sure are
What is the breakdown of a radioactive isotope of the same element or of another element?
radioactive decay
Does atomic mass stay the same?
The atomic mass of a radioactive atoms is changed during the radioactive decay (alpha decay, neutron decay, proton decay, double proton decay), spontaneous or artificial fission, nuclear reactions.
What is one similarity between uranium 238 and carbon 14?
238U and 14C are radioactive isotopes of natural chemical elements.
What is the meaninq of two isotopes stable and unstable isotopes?
Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons. Stable isotopes have a balanced number of protons and neutrons, meaning their nuclei do not decay over time. Unstable isotopes, also known as radioactive isotopes, have an imbalance of protons and neutrons, causing their nuclei to decay and emit radiation over time.
Does the model of decay accurately represent the decay of a radioactive subsatnce?
If we are dating a substance on unknown age, no, this is because, we are assuming we know how much substance was initially present, also we assume there has been no contamination, lastly we assume the decay rate has always been the same.
Do all radioactive isotopes follow the half-life single rate or are there those that decay at multiple rates throughout their decay?
In general, a radioactive substance decays at a constant rate throughout time. That is not to say that the same number of decays occur per unit time. They cannot, and this is because the sample is shrinking as radioactive decay "claims" more and more of it. The decays per second is decreasing. But the rate of decay remains constant. There are some instances where slight changes in decay rates of a couple of different radioactive substances occur when we put them in extreme magnetic fields. But, by and large, the decay rates of radionuclides are constant. Additionally, we've gone to great lengths in an attempt to induce changes in the decay rates of a number of radionuclides, but they've proved themselves sublimely resistant to any manipulation by the likes of us, even as clever as we are.
Is radioactive decay the same as organic decay?
No, radioactive decay is not the same as organic decay. The basic difference between radioactive decay and organic decay is that in organic decay, chemical compounds break down and the biochemical structure of the subject changes. This is a natural process that any biological structures will undergo, or it could be induced. In either case, it represents a chemical change. In radioactive decay, the actual atomic nuclei of atoms will break down in some way, depending on the substance being considered. It is the unstable atomic nucleus of given isotopes of elements that undergoes the change, and this is a nuclear or atomic change.
Why is Radioactive decay is said to be random?
The underlying truth in radioactive decay is that on an individual basis, no unstable atom will have a predictable time until it will decay. We understand and characterize the decay of radionuclides on the basis of statistical analysis. Only by looking at a large number of atoms of a given isotope of a given element and counting the decay events over time can we quantify the decay rate. The term half-life is used to state (based on the statistics) when half of a given quantity of a substance will have undergone radioactive decay. Note that atoms are incredibly tiny things, and even if we have very tiny quantities of a given radioactive material, we'll have huge numbers of atoms of that material in the sample. The larger the number of atoms of material and the longer we count the decay events, the more accurate our half-life value will be. Having said all that, no one can predict when a given atom of any radionuclide will decay. Each is different, and that is the basis for the random nature of nuclear or radioactive decay.
Can the atomic number change over time?
No. The atomic number of an element never changes. It is the number of protons and it defines the element. In certain types of radioactive decay, the number of protons can change, but then it is no longer the same (parent) element, but rather is a new (daughter) element.
