Radioactive Isotopes

and Half Life

What is a Radioactive
Isotope?
What is Radioactive Decay?
What is Half Life?
(Take notes as we discuss)
2

Radioactive Isotopes
Radioactive elements are unstable. They decay,
and change into different elements over time.
Not all elements are radioactive. Those that are
listed below are the most useful for geologic
dating of fossils are:
U-238
K-40
C-14

Half-life = 4.5 Billion Years

Half-life = 1.25 Billion Years
Half-life = 5, 730 Years

Radioactive Decay and Half Life

Here are some facts to remember:
1.The half-life of an element is the time it takes
for half of the material you started with to decay.
2. Each element has its own half-life

Radioactive Decay and Half Life

3. Each element decays into a new
element
C14 decays into N14

4. The half-life of each element is constant.

Its like a clock keeping perfect time.
Now lets see how we can use half-life to determine the
age of a rock, fossil or other artifact.

The blue grid below represents a quantity of C14. Each time you click,
one half-life goes by and turns red.
Ratio of
Half
% C14
%N14
14
14
C to N
C blue
N - red
lives
14

100%

0%

14

no ratio

As we begin notice that no

time has gone by and that
100% of the material is C14
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The grid below represents a quantity of C14. Each time you click,
one half-life goes by and you see red.
Ratio of
Half
% C14
%N14
14
14
C to N
C blue
N - red
lives
14

14

100%

0%

no ratio

50%

50%

1:1

After 1 half-life (5730 years), 50% of

the C14 has decayed into N14. The ratio
of C14 to N14 is 1:1. There are equal
amounts of the 2 elements.
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The blue grid below represents a quantity of C14. Each time you click,
one half-life goes by and you see red .
Ratio of
Half
% C14
%N14
14
14
C to N
C blue
N - red
lives
14

14

100%

0%

no ratio

50%

50%

1:1

25%

75%

1:3

Now 2 half-lives have gone by for a total

of 11,460 years. Half of the C14 that was
present at the end of half-life #1 has now
decayed to N14. Notice the C:N ratio. It
will be useful later.
8

The blue grid below represents a quantity of C14. Each time you click,
one half-life goes by and you see red.
Ratio of
Half
% C14
%N14
14
14
C to N
C blue
N - red
lives
14

14

100%

0%

no ratio

50%

50%

1:1

25%

75%

1:3

12.5%

87.5%

1:7

After 3 half-lives (17,190 years) only

12.5% of the original C14 remains. For
each half-life period half of the material
present decays. And again, notice the
ratio, 1:7
9

10

What is the half life

represented in this
graph?

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12

If 100.0 g of carbon-14 decays until

only 25.0 g of carbon is left after
11460 y, what is the half-life of
carbon-14?

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If 100.0 g of carbon-14 decays until only 25.0 g

of carbon is left after 11460 y, what is the halflife of carbon-14?
1. List the given and unknown values.
Given: initial mass of sample = 100.0 g
final mass of sample = 25.0 g
total time of decay = 11460 y
Unknown: number of half-lives = ? half-lives
half-life = ? y

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If 100.0 g of carbon-14 decays until only 25.0 g

of carbon is left after 11460 y, what is the halflife of carbon-14?
2. Write down the equation relating half-life, the
number of half-lives, and the decay time, and
rearrange it to solve for half-life.

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If 100.0 g of carbon-14 decays until only 25.0 g

of carbon is left after 11460 y, what is the halflife of carbon-14?
3. Calculate how many half-lives have passed
during the decay of the 100.0 g sample.

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If 100.0 g of carbon-14 decays until only 25.0 g

of carbon is left after 11460 y, what is the halflife of carbon-14?
4. Solve for the half-life.

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 1. What is the half-life of a 100.0 g sample of

nitrogen-16 that decays to 12.5 g of nitrogen16 in 21.6 s?

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 2. All isotopes of technetium are radioactive,

but they have widely varying half-lives. If an
800.0 g sample of technetium-99 decays to
100.0 g of technetium-99 in 639 000 y, what is
its half-life?

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 3. A 208 g sample of sodium-24 decays to 13.0

g of sodium-24 within 60.0 h. What is the halflife of this radioactive isotope?

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