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What is half-life?
The time it takes for half the number of atoms in a sample to decay.
What is half-life in terms of activity?
The time it takes for the activity of a sample to halve.
Why are there different values of half-life?
The half-life is a property of any radioactive material so there are many different ones.
What is the problem with the half-life of radioactive waste?
It is very long so the waste has to be stored for hundreds of thousands of years.
What is carbon dating?
A method used to find the age of organic materials.
What is the difference between the isotopes Carbon-12 and Carbon-14?
Carbon-14 has two extra neutrons.
Which isotope of carbon is radioactive?
Carbon-14 because it has an unequal number of protons and neutrons.
What radioactive properties would be required for a medical trace?
A gamma or beta emitter in order to leave the patients body, short half-life to reduce the exposure to the patient.
What radioactive properties would be required for a smoke alarm?
An alpha emitter so that it is easily absorbed by the smoke, long half-life so it wouldn’t need replacing frequently.
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