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Yes, an isotope is still radioactive after one half life. There is simple one half of it left. And there will be one half of that half, i.e. one quarter left after a second half life, and half of that half, i.e. one eight left after a third half life, etc. The equation for half-life is ...

AT = A0 2(-T/H)

... where A0 is the starting activity, AT is the ending activity at some time T, and H is the half-life in units of T. Sometimes, you see this equation in other forms, such as with e instead of 2, but there is another factor in the exponent. They are all the same. This equation, with the 2, makes the meaning of half-life clear because a negative power of 2 is simply 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc.

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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.


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.


What is the time needed for half of a radioactive isotope to break down to form daughter isotope?

It's called "half life".


What is half of a radioactive isotope mean?

Half of a radioactive isotope refers to its half-life, which is the time required for half of the isotope's atoms in a sample to decay into a different element or isotope. During this period, the radioactivity decreases exponentially, meaning that after one half-life, 50% of the original isotope remains, and after two half-lives, 25% remains, and so on. This concept is crucial in fields like radiometric dating, nuclear medicine, and understanding radioactive decay processes.


What is half of a radioactive isotope?

Half of a radioactive isotope is an atom that would have half of the atomic number of the radioactive isotope. In the case of radium-88 (88Ra), half of the radioactive isotope would be ruthenium-44 (44Ru). This assumes that the protons do not break down and that none are lost to additional reactions with other elements or compounds. Electrons can be lost along the radioactive chain, resulting in an ion of ruthenium rather than an electrically neutral atom.

Related Questions

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.


Does the half life of a radioactive isotope change?

No. It is a constant.


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

Yes.


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.