How do you calculate the half-life of a radioactive element?

The time taken for half of the original population of radioactive atoms to decay is called the half-life. This relationship between half-life, the time period, t1/2, and the decay constant λ is given by t12=0.693λ t 1 2 = 0.693 λ . Break down tough concepts through simple visuals.

What is the half-life of thorium-230?

75,380 years
The longer-lived of these trace isotopes include: 230Th with a half-life of 75,380 years which is a daughter product of 238U decay; 229Th with a half-life of 7340 years and 228Th with a half-life of 1.92 years.

What is the half-life of radon-222?

3.8 days
Rn-222 has a short half-life (3.8 days) and decays into a series of solid particulate products, known as radon progeny or radon daughters, all of which have even shorter half-lives (∼30 min or less).

What is the half-life of protactinium 234?

about 1.17 minutes
The particular isotope they found, protactinium-234m, has a half-life of about 1.17 minutes.

What is the half-life of U 235?

about 700 million years
The half-life of uranium-238 is about 4.5 billion years, uranium-235 about 700 million years, and uranium-234 about 25 thousand years.

What is the half-life of thorium 234?

24.1 days
Thorium-234 (half-life = 24.1 days) was first measured in the oceans in the late 1960’s by Bhat et al.

What is the half-life of RA 226?

1600 year
Radium-226 Decay Chain: Radium-226 (1600 year half life) yields an alpha particle and Radon-222; Radon-222 (3.82 day half life) yields an alpha particle and Polonium-218; Polonium-218 (3.05 minute half life) yields an alpha particle and Lead-214; Lead-214 (26.8 minute half life) yields a beta particle and Bismuth-214; …

What is the half-life of protactinium 231?

about 32,760 years
Protactinium’s most stable isotope, protactinium-231, has a half-life of about 32,760 years. It decays into actinium-227 through alpha decay.

How do you find the half life of a radioactive element?

Half-Life formula You can find the half-life of a radioactive element using the formula: where t1/2 is the half-life of the particle, t is the elapsed time, N0 is the quantity in the beginning, and Nt is the quantity at time t. This equation is used in the calculator when solving for half-life time.

What is a half life calculator used for?

The Half-Life calculator can be used to understand the radioactive decay principles. It can be used to calculate the half-life of a radioactive element, the time elapsed, initial quantity, and remaining quantity of an element. Half-life is a concept widely used in chemistry, physics, biology, and pharmacology. What is half life?

What is the value of specific activity of radionuclides with shorter half-life?

The students should notice that the radionuclide with the shorter half-life has a greater value of specific activity, SpA , than the SpA of the radionuclide with the longer half-life.

What is the half-life of an isotope used for?

The half-life of an isotope is used to describe the rate at which the isotope will decay and give off radiation. Using the half-life, it is possible to predict the amount of radioactive material that will remain after a given amount of time.