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Why is radioactive decay only useful for the first 8 half lives of any radioactive substance?
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What kinetics does radioactive decay obey?
Radioactive decay follows first-order kinetics, meaning the rate of decay is proportional to the amount of radioactive material present. This means that half-life remains constant throughout the decay process.
What is the difference between Chemical kinetics vs Chemical decay?
Chemical kinetics studies the speed at which chemical reactions occur, including factors influencing reaction rates. Chemical decay specifically refers to the decrease in concentration of a substance over time due to chemical reactions like decomposition or radioactivity. Chemical decay is a type of chemical kinetics involving the study of reaction rate changes as a function of time.
How fast a radioactive element decays is given by is what?
The decay of a radioactive element is governed by its half-life, which is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay. Different radioactive elements have different half-lives, ranging from microseconds to billions of years. The decay rate is exponential, meaning that the rate of decay decreases over time as the amount of remaining radioactive material decreases.
What is the first radioactive element that forms when uranium 238 decays?
The first radioactive element formed when uranium-238 decays is thorium-234. Uranium-238 undergoes alpha decay to form thorium-234.
Why will the amount of a radioactive substance never reach zero amount present?
Radioactive decay is a random process, and there is always a chance that a nucleus will decay over time. This means that even if the amount of a radioactive substance becomes extremely small, there will still be some nuclei that have not yet decayed. As a result, the amount will never reach exactly zero.
What kinetics does radioactive decay obey?
Radioactive decay follows first-order kinetics, meaning the rate of decay is proportional to the amount of radioactive material present. This means that half-life remains constant throughout the decay process.
Why radioactive decay is always first order reaction?
This is because only one isotope decay.
What is the difference between Chemical kinetics vs Chemical decay?
Chemical kinetics studies the speed at which chemical reactions occur, including factors influencing reaction rates. Chemical decay specifically refers to the decrease in concentration of a substance over time due to chemical reactions like decomposition or radioactivity. Chemical decay is a type of chemical kinetics involving the study of reaction rate changes as a function of time.
What decays first duriing radioactive decay?
The decay of the parent isotope into a daughter isotope occurs first in radioactive decay. This process involves the emission of particles and/or energy from the nucleus of the parent isotope, resulting in the formation of a new daughter isotope.
How fast a radioactive element decays is given by is what?
The decay of a radioactive element is governed by its half-life, which is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay. Different radioactive elements have different half-lives, ranging from microseconds to billions of years. The decay rate is exponential, meaning that the rate of decay decreases over time as the amount of remaining radioactive material decreases.
Is the percentage of radioactive atoms that decay during one half-life always the same?
Yes, the percentage of radioactive atoms that decay during one half-life is always the same, which is 50%. This means that half of the radioactive atoms present will undergo radioactive decay within each half-life duration.
What was thought to have been a source of heat when Earth first formed?
Radioactive decay of elements present in Earth's core was thought to have been a major source of heat when Earth first formed. This process releases energy as particles decay, contributing to the high temperatures deep within the planet.
What is a radioactive element's half-life?
The half-life of a radioactive element is the time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay. It is a characteristic property of each radioactive isotope and can range from fractions of a second to billions of years.
What is the first radioactive element that forms when uranium 238 decays?
The first radioactive element formed when uranium-238 decays is thorium-234. Uranium-238 undergoes alpha decay to form thorium-234.
Why will the amount of a radioactive substance never reach zero amount present?
Radioactive decay is a random process, and there is always a chance that a nucleus will decay over time. This means that even if the amount of a radioactive substance becomes extremely small, there will still be some nuclei that have not yet decayed. As a result, the amount will never reach exactly zero.
What is the longest radioactive halflife?
First, it isn't very accurate to talk about a radioactive "element"; you should talk about radioactive isotopes. Different isotopes of the same element can have very different behavior in this sense. For example, hydrogen-1 and hydrogen-2 are stable, while hydrogen-3 is not (half-life about 19 years).Individual atoms, in a radioactive isotope, will decay at a random moment. The half-life refers to how long it takes for half of the atoms in a given sample to decay (and convert to some other type of isotope).
What follows radioactive decay?
The final product is a stable isotope, but what it is depends on the decay. The intermediate steps constitute what is called a decay chain. For example, one well known decay chain is that of thorium-232, which goes through a series of radioactive isotopes decaying each to the next. The final product is lead-208, which stops the process since it is stable and does not decay further. Other decay chains produce other results. Sometimes the first decay produces a stable result, as in the case of tritium, which decays to helium-3.
