What causes radioactive decay quizlet?
The nucleus of an unstable isotope does not hold together well, it changes by releasing fast moving particles and energy in the process called radioactive decay.
What does half life mean in apes?
Half life. The time it takes for ½ of the mass of a radioisotope to decay. A radioactive isotope must be stored for approximately 10 half-lives until it decays to a safe level.
Why is radioactive decay important?
Radioactive decay is very important for a wide range of human activities, from medicine to electricity production and beyond, and also to astronomers.
What is radioactive decay quizlet?
Radioactive decay, also known as nuclear decay or radioactivity, is the process by which a nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting radiation. A material that spontaneously emits such radiation — which includes alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays and conversion electrons — is considered radioactive.
What happens radioactive decay?
Radioactive decay is an automatic process in which an unstable atom (specifically atomic nucleus) releases energy in the form of radiation like alpha, beta, gamma rays, etc. to transform into a much stable nucleus. … The atoms consisting of a large number of protons or neutrons or both are considered to be unstable.
What is a radioactive decay series quizlet?
decay series. a series of radioactive nuclides produced by successive radioactive decay until a stable nuclide is reached. gamma decay. A nuclear reaction in which an atom loses high energy. This does not change the atomic number and the mass number also stays the same.
What is radioactive decay in earth science?
Radioactive decay is a spontaneous process in which an isotope (the parent) loses particles from its nucleus to form an isotope of a new element (the daughter).
What radioactive means?
As its name implies, radioactivity is the act of emitting radiation spontaneously. This is done by an atomic nucleus that, for some reason, is unstable; it “wants” to give up some energy in order to shift to a more stable configuration.
What is radioactive decay in simple terms?
Radioactive decay is used to describe what happens to the nucleus of an unstable atom when it loses energy and emits radiation. … The term radioactive decay is more commonly known as radioactivity, is also called nuclear decay and involves any material that is considered radioactive.
What is meant by half-life?
half-life, in radioactivity, the interval of time required for one-half of the atomic nuclei of a radioactive sample to decay (change spontaneously into other nuclear species by emitting particles and energy), or, equivalently, the time interval required for the number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive …