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The most useful isotope is uranium 235 which occurs naturally as 0.7 percent uranium as found. Plutonium 239 is also useful but has to be made in a reactor from uranium 238

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How do scientist use radioactive isotopes for radioactive dating?

Scientists use radioactive isotopes in minerals to determine the age of rocks and fossils through a process called radiometric dating. By measuring the ratio of the parent isotope to the daughter isotope, scientists can calculate the age of a sample based on the known decay rate of the radioactive isotope. This method is commonly used in geology, archaeology, and paleontology to determine the age of Earth materials.


What element glows in the dark on hands on the clock?

The element that typically glows in the dark on clock hands is called tritium. It is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that emits low-energy beta particles, which cause certain materials to glow in the dark without needing an external light source. However, some modern clocks may use non-radioactive phosphorescent materials instead.


How might you use a radioactive isotope to find out whether the oxygen in carbon dioxide comes from sugar or oxygen gas?

You could use a radioactive isotope like carbon-14 to label the sugars during photosynthesis. By tracking the movement of carbon-14 in the carbon dioxide, you can determine if the oxygen in the carbon dioxide comes from sugar or oxygen gas. If the oxygen in the carbon dioxide comes from sugar, the carbon-14 label will also be seen in the oxygen.


How do you use half life in a sentence?

Uranium has a high half-life, so it changes very quickly.


What is the use for protactinium?

Protactinium is primarily used in research applications for its radioactive properties. It can be used as a neutron source and in some nuclear reactions. Its most important isotope, Protactinium-231, is used in dating marine sediments and determining geological ages.

Related Questions

What is one radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn exact age of the rock?

Absolute dating is a radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn the exact age of the rock.


What is one radioactive isotope the geologists can use to learn the exact age of the rock?

Absolute dating is a radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn the exact age of the rock.


When a radioactive tracer is used why is it best to use a radioactive isotope that decays into a stable isotope?

The principle behind the use of radioactive tracers is that an atom in a chemical compound is replaced by another atom, of the same chemical element. The substituting atom, however, is a radioactive isotope. This process is often called radioactive labeling.


How do scientists use the halflife of radioactive isotopes to date rocks and fossils?

The basic idea is to compare the abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope within a material to the abundance of its decay products; it is known how fast the radioactive isotope decays.


Why is curium 242 not suitable for use in smoke detectors?

Curium-242 is not suitable for use in smoke detectors because it is a radioactive isotope that emits high-energy alpha particles, which can be harmful to human health if exposed in close proximity over extended periods of time. Additionally, curium-242 has a long half-life, making it unsuitable for the short-term detection requirements of smoke detectors.


How do scientist use radioactive isotopes for radioactive dating?

Scientists use radioactive isotopes in minerals to determine the age of rocks and fossils through a process called radiometric dating. By measuring the ratio of the parent isotope to the daughter isotope, scientists can calculate the age of a sample based on the known decay rate of the radioactive isotope. This method is commonly used in geology, archaeology, and paleontology to determine the age of Earth materials.


What is the similarity of radioactive isotope and radioactive dating?

Both radioactive isotopes and radioactive dating rely on the process of radioactive decay. Radioactive isotopes decay at a known rate, allowing scientists to measure the passage of time based on the amount of decay that has occurred. Radioactive dating uses this decay process to determine the age of rocks and fossils.


Will iodine ever under go nuclear reaction?

If you use a heavier isotope of iodine, it should be radioactive.


What is a stable isotope?

A stable isotope is an isotope that does not undergo radioactive decay, meaning its nucleus is stable and does not change over time. These isotopes have a constant number of protons and neutrons, making them suitable for use in scientific studies like tracing biological processes or determining the age of rocks. Examples include carbon-12, oxygen-16, and nitrogen-14.


When does an isotope undergo Decay?

An atom of a given isotope will undergo radioactive decay whenever it feels like it. No joke. The nucleus of a radioactive isotope is unstable. Always. But that atom has no predictable moment of instability leading immediately to the decay event. We use something called a half life to estimate how long it will take for half a given quantity of an isotope to undergo radioactive decay until half the original amount is left, but this is a statistically calculated period. No one knows how long it will take a given atom of a radioactive isotope to decay, except that those with very short half lives will pretty much disappear relatively quickly.


What is the use of measuring the activity of a radioactive isotope in a sample to determine its age?

Measuring the activity of a radioactive isotope in a sample allows scientists to determine the amount of time that has passed since the sample was formed. By comparing the current activity of the isotope to its original activity, scientists can calculate the age of the sample, a technique commonly used in radiometric dating to estimate the age of rocks, fossils, and archaeological artifacts.


. Describe in a few sentences how scientists use radioactivity to determine the age of a rock.?

Scientists use radioactivity to determine the age of a rock through a process called radiometric dating. They measure the amount of radioactive isotopes present in the rock and the rate at which they decay into stable isotopes. By comparing the ratio of parent isotope to daughter isotope, scientists can calculate the age of the rock based on the known half-life of the radioactive isotope.