Radioactive materials can be identified by measuring their_______________?
Correct answer: D. Half life
- A. Hardness
- B. Density
- C. Mass
- D. Half life
Explanation
Each radioactive isotope has a characteristic half-life, the time required for half of a sample's unstable nuclei to decay, so measuring it helps identify the radioactive material. Hardness, density and mass are ordinary physical properties and do not uniquely identify a radioactive isotope. The likely trap is option c, because sample mass changes the amount present but not the isotope's half-life.
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About Half-life and Rate of Decay
Half-life is the time required for half the unstable nuclei in a sample to decay, and it remains constant for a particular radioactive nuclide. Questions use the exponential decay law, decay constant, activity, remaining quantity and mean life. Radioactive decay is random for individual nuclei but predictable for large samples.
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