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The half life is the period of time it takes radioactive decay to transmute one half of the isotope present at the start of the period to a different isotope, usually an isotope of a different element. This period of time is different for different isotopes, with known isotope half lives ranging from femtoseconds to many billions of years.

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Velda Hauck

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What is the half life of an isotope?

The half-life of a radioactive isotope is the amount of time it takes for one-half of the radioactive isotope to decay. The half-life of a specific radioactive isotope is constant; it is unaffected by conditions and is independent of the initial amount of that isotope.


What is half life of a isotope?

The half life of an isotope refers to the rate at which a radioactive isotope undergoes radioactive decay. Specifically, it is the amount of time it takes for half of a given sample of a radioactive isotope to decay.


Isotope A has half-life of seconds and isotope B has a half-life of millions of years which isotope is more radioactive?

Isotope A is more radioactive because it has a shorter half-life, indicating a faster rate of decay. A shorter half-life means that more of the isotope will undergo radioactive decay in a given time period compared to an isotope with a longer half-life.


Can the half life of a radioactive isotope decrease as the isotope decays?

No, the half-life of a radioactive isotope is a constant property of that particular isotope and does not change as it decays. The half-life is defined as the time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay. Once set, the half-life remains constant regardless of how many atoms have decayed.


Can only a radioactive isotope will have a half-life?

Yes.


Does the half life of a radioactive isotope change?

No. It is a constant.


How are radioactive isotopes used determine the absolute age of igneous rock?

Answer : When the isotopes decay, scientists can find out how old the rock is depending on the radioactive isotope's half-life. Explanation: Radioactive isotopes are unstable and will decay. For example, when humans die carbon-14 decays. The isotopes will decay into a stable isotope over time. Scientists can tell how old the rock was from looking at the radioactive isotope's half-life, which tells them how long it would take for there to be half the radioactive isotope and half the stable isotope. At the next half-life there will be 25% of the radioactive isotope and 75% of the stable isotope. At the next half life there will be 12.5% radioactive and 87.5% stable. Example: Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope with a half life of 5,730 years. How old would carbon-14 be when there is 75% carbon-14 in the rock? 75% is half of the time before the half-life, so it would be 2,365 years. Hope this helps. Half life helps scientists find how much the isotope has decayed and the age of the rock.


How are radioactive isotopes used to determine the absolute age of igneous rock.?

Answer : When the isotopes decay, scientists can find out how old the rock is depending on the radioactive isotope's half-life. Explanation: Radioactive isotopes are unstable and will decay. For example, when humans die carbon-14 decays. The isotopes will decay into a stable isotope over time. Scientists can tell how old the rock was from looking at the radioactive isotope's half-life, which tells them how long it would take for there to be half the radioactive isotope and half the stable isotope. At the next half-life there will be 25% of the radioactive isotope and 75% of the stable isotope. At the next half life there will be 12.5% radioactive and 87.5% stable. Example: Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope with a half life of 5,730 years. How old would carbon-14 be when there is 75% carbon-14 in the rock? 75% is half of the time before the half-life, so it would be 2,365 years. Hope this helps. Half life helps scientists find how much the isotope has decayed and the age of the rock.


What is the half- life of radioactive carbon?

Carbon-14 or 14C, which is a radioactive isotope of carbon, has a half life of 5,700 years.


What is the characteristic time for the decay of a radioactive isotope?

The characteristic time for the decay of a radioactive isotope is known as its half-life. This is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay.


What is meant by half life of radioactive isotopes?

This is the time in which half the the atoms was disintegrated.


What property of a radioactive isotope is the length of time it takes half of the nuclei to decay?

This is called the "half-life" of the isotope.