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A scientist will take an known amount of the isotope in question and measure how much radiation that mass produces over a fixed period. Using Avogadro's constant you can work out how may atoms are present in that mass and having measures the radiation you know how many have decayed over that period. From this you can work out how long it will take for 1/2 the atoms in that mass to decay - the half life of the isotope.

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What is the name for the length of time of a decay process?

The length of time for a decay process to occur is called the half-life. It represents the time it takes for half of the radioactive isotopes in a sample to decay.


A substance is the time required for half the atoms in a sample of a radioactive isotope to decay?

The time it takes for half the sample to decay is called the half-life.The time it takes for half the sample to decay is called the half-life.The time it takes for half the sample to decay is called the half-life.The time it takes for half the sample to decay is called the half-life.


The rate at which radioactive decay occur is given in half-lifeexplain the term and give the half-life of a few substances?

A half-life is the time it takes for half of the substance to decay, becoming something else. You can find a list of half-lives in the Wikipedia article "List_of_isotopes_by_half-life".


What do we call the time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to decay?

The time it takes for half of a sample to decay is called the "half-life" of the corresponding material.


When does decay occur?

Radioactive decay happens in an unstable isotope of a given element, as the isotope decays radiation is given off. As for when exactly, the decay of a nucleus is spontaneous and random so averages are used, these averages are different for different isotopes, but are measured as the "half life" (the time it takes for half the nucleus to decay).


The half-life of a radioactive element is?

The time it takes for half of the atoms to decay, and become some other type of atom.


What is the time it takes for half of the atoms in a radioactive element to decay?

The half-life


What is the time it takes for half of the Atoms of a radioactive element to decay?

The half-life


What is the time it takes for half of the atoms in an isotope to decay called?

The half-life


The time it takes for half of the radioactive element to decay is the element's what?

The time it takes for half the atoms in a sample of a radioactive element to decay is called the half life.


What is the time it takes for half of an isotope's atoms to decay?

The time it takes for half of an isotope's atoms to decay is called the half-life. It is a characteristic property of each isotope and can vary greatly depending on the specific isotope.


Is the half-life of a chemical element one-half of the amount of a radioactive element to decay?

The half-life is the time that it takes for 1/2 of a material to decay.