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What can scientists learn from the rate at which radioactive elements decay?
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∙ 9y ago
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∙ 9y ago
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What is one radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn exact age of the rock?
Absolute dating is a radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn the exact age of the rock.
Why do scientists read?
To learn.
How do scientists learn about the climate in Antarctica thousands of years ago?
Ice cores are useful for scientists who want to learn about the climate in Antarctica thousands of years ago.
How was the discovery of the protons initiated the development of the periodic table of elements?
The discovery of protons helped scientists understand the atomic structure of elements. By knowing that each element has a specific number of protons in its nucleus, scientists were able to organize the elements based on their atomic number, which led to the development of the periodic table. This organization revealed patterns in the properties of elements and facilitated the prediction of properties of undiscovered elements.
Does a radioactive substance continue to decay after its half life is over?
No, a radioactive substance does not remain radioactive forever. But we should dig a bit deeper and learn some things about what it means when something is radioactive.Radioactive substances, which are sometimes called radionuclides, are atoms with an unstable atomic nuclear structure. Every unstable atomic nucleus will eventually decay spontaneously, and the only question is when. The time it takes for a given atom of a given radioisotope to decay cannot ever be given, but we've found a way to talk about the length of time it takes for a radionuclide to decay, and that's the half-life. The half-life is the time it takes for half of a large number of atoms of the same radionuclide to decay.When an unstable atomic nucleus decays, a "new" atomic nucleus it formed. This new nucleus is what is called a daughter. The daughter may or may not be radioactive. If it is, it too will eventually decay into another daughter. And so on, and so on until a stable atomic nucleus is arrived at. In this light, no radioactive substance remains radioactive forever. But there's a catch.What if the half-life of a radioisotope is, say, a billion years? Or more? There are some particularly long-lived radionuclides, and they have half-lives longer than the (calculated) length of time the universe itself has been around. That's a long time! Though it may be that nothing stays radioactive forever, an observer might be waiting a long, long, long, time for something like, say, 209Bi (Bismuth-209). This stuff has a half-life of 19 (+ or - 2) x 1018 years. That's about 20 quintillion years! Longer than the universe is calculated to have been here - and by roughly a billion times! Don't hold your breath waiting for 209Bi to alpha decay!
How do scientist use Radioactive Isotopes to find the absolute age of a rock?
Scientists use radioactive isotopes in rocks to calculate their absolute age through a process called radiometric dating. By measuring the ratio of parent isotopes to daughter isotopes in a rock sample, scientists can determine how much time has passed since the rock formed. The rate of decay of the parent isotope into the daughter isotope provides a clock that allows scientists to calculate the rock's age.
What is the definition of radioactivity?
Radioactivity is a term that refers to the emissions from atomic nuclei due to changes in those nuclei. Those changes will occur as a result of instability of isotopes of certain elements. These atoms have a nuclear structure that is inherently unstable for whatever reason. And any unstable nucleus will eventually decay in a manner characteristic of that particular atom (radioisotope). We term the activity associated with the natural changes due to nuclear instability radioactive decay. As you can guess, different things might appear as an expression of the radioactivity of a radioisotope, and they'll vary according to the radioisotope being inspected.We could say that the elements on the upper end of the periodic table are radioactive, and these elements, the ones beginning with bismuth, have no nuclear configurations that permit them to avoid instability and their eventual radioactive decay. Additionally, we know that there are isotopes of other elements (lighter ones) that are not stable, and these radioisotopes are radioactive and will decay in time. Lastly, there are the elements technetium and promethium, which are the only elements with atomic numbers below that of bismuth that have no stable isotopes.The emissions we might gather under the umbrella of radioactivity include both particulate radiation and radiation in the form of energy, or electromagnetic radiation. Your investigation of the instabilities associated with atomic structure and what it is that results is just beginning. Use the links below to check facts and learn more.
What do you learn from radioactive dating?
like what can you learn from it
What did scientists learn about it?
Scientists learn a few different things. Scientists learn new things very day.
What do you call scientists that learn about the past?
Scientists that learn about the past are called historians because they learn about history/past.
How do scientists learn about the world?
Scientists use observation and experimentation to learn about the natural world.
What is one radioactive isotope the geologists can use to learn the exact age of the rock?
Absolute dating is a radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn the exact age of the rock.
What is one radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn exact age of the rock?
Absolute dating is a radioactive isotope the geologist can use to learn the exact age of the rock.
Why do scientists read?
To learn.
What can scientists learn from a stars light?
Scientists can learn a star's composition, temperature, and age by analyzing its light. By studying the spectrum of light emitted by a star, scientists can identify the elements present in the star, determine its surface temperature, and estimate its age based on its brightness and color.
How can scientists learn from observations?
making mistakes if they won't do it they wont learn
What do scientists learn from animals in zoos?
they learn behavioral patterns of the animals.
