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Any of the following can be used: the half-life, or the mean lifetime, or the decay constant.

Any of the following can be used: the half-life, or the mean lifetime, or the decay constant.

Any of the following can be used: the half-life, or the mean lifetime, or the decay constant.

Any of the following can be used: the half-life, or the mean lifetime, or the decay constant.

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13y ago
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13y ago

I believe the term you are looking for is "half-life" which refers to the amount of time it takes for half of a sample of radioactive material to decay (half of the atoms)

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14y ago

The rate of radioactivity decay for each unstable radioactivity isotope is expressed as its activity.

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14y ago

It is called half life of radioactive decay.

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13y ago

Any of the following can be used: the half-life, or the mean lifetime, or the decay constant.

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14y ago

Half-life.

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Q: The rate of decay of a radioactive element is measured by its what?
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What does the half life of a radioisotope represent?

It tells what fraction of a radioactive sample remains after a certain length of time.


What decays first duriing radioactive decay?

No, radioactive decay is not a chemical reaction. Radioactive decay is a type of change in the nucleus of an atom that results from instability in that nucleus. And that is a nuclear reaction rather than a chemical one.


What is the decay rate of a radioactive isotope?

The decay rate of a specific radionuclide will depend on the quantity of the material in a sample. The more there is, the higher the decay rate. Decay rate for a specific isotope of a specific element is set by the nature of the radioisotope itself; it is an innate property or characteristic. Only by studying samples (specific quantities) containing large numbers of atoms of a given radioisotope, and by counting the number of decay events per unit of time, can we arrive at a characteristic called the half-life of that radioisotope.The half-life of a radionuclide is a statistically derived measure of the rate of its decay. And, to repeat, the rate of decay for a given radionuclide, is a natural characteristic of that radionuclide. It's the number of decays per unit of time that an observer can expect to count for a given sized sample of the material. Use the links below to gather more information.


Which of the following can change the rate of radioactive decay?

For all practical purposes, No. However, there is a very small effect on some elements due to pressure (E.g. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/181/4105/1164), there is a small effect upon Beta Decay due to magnetic field strength, and there is an effect due to ionization.


What is the difference between radioactive decay and radiometric dating?

It is the difference between sand running out of an hour glass and determining what time it is by how much sand is left. Radioactive decay happens at a steady rate. If you can determine how much of that radioactive isotope ought to have been in a sample at the start and you can measure how much is left, you can tell how much time has passed.

Related questions

What is the rate of decay of a radioactive element is measured by?

By Becquerels, which is one disintegration per second, or by curies, which is 3.3x1010 disintegrations per second.


What is the disintegration rate of radioactive elements?

It varies from one element to another. It is measured in terms of its half-life. A half-life is the length of time it takes for half the number of radioactive atoms of the element in a lump to decay.


Radioactive decay can be affected by?

The rate of decay of a radioactive element cannot be influenced by any physical or chemical change. It is a rather constant phenomenon that appears to be independent of all others. The rate of decay is given by an element's half life, which is the amount of time for approximately half of the atoms to decay.


What does the half life of a radioisotope represent?

It tells what fraction of a radioactive sample remains after a certain length of time.


How is a radioactive element's rate of decay like the ticking of a clock?

The ticking of a clock is constant, occurring at a steady rhythm/frequency. While the decay of radioactive elements cannot be determined at a particular point in time, they do decay at a fairly steady rate over time. This allows you to statistically determine the rate at which a mass of radioactive material will steadily decay. So, the decay rate is steady, predictable, and follows a sort of rhythm over time just like the ticking of a clock.


How is a radioactive element's rate of decay like a ticking of a clock?

The ticking of a clock is constant, occurring at a steady rhythm/frequency. While the decay of radioactive elements cannot be determined at a particular point in time, they do decay at a fairly steady rate over time. This allows you to statistically determine the rate at which a mass of radioactive material will steadily decay. So, the decay rate is steady, predictable, and follows a sort of rhythm over time just like the ticking of a clock.


How is a radioactive element of decay like the ticking of a clock?

The ticking of a clock is constant, occurring at a steady rhythm/frequency. While the decay of radioactive elements cannot be determined at a particular point in time, they do decay at a fairly steady rate over time. This allows you to statistically determine the rate at which a mass of radioactive material will steadily decay. So, the decay rate is steady, predictable, and follows a sort of rhythm over time just like the ticking of a clock.


What is the effect of pressure on the rate of radioactive decay?

Pressure does not affect the rate of radioactive decay. That is entirely unaffected by the environment within the nucleus of the atom.


How the radioactive decay rate be changed?

The rate cannot be changed.


What is the radioactive decay law?

The rate of decay (activity) of a radioactive isotope is proportional to the number of atoms of the isotope present.


What is radioactive decay law?

The rate of decay (activity) of a radioactive isotope is proportional to the number of atoms of the isotope present.


Does radioactive decay occurs at a gradually changing rate?

no