Uses of Nuclear Chemistry
Answer the following item in the space provided.
1. Define half-life.
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question.
40 0 40
2.____ The equation K + e --> Ar + ________ represents the decay of potassium-40
19 -1 18
to argon-40.
3.____ Potassium-40 is useful in dating ancient rocks. What is potassium's nuclear symbol? _______
14 14 0
4.____ The equation C --> N + e reprsents the decay of carbon-14 by ________ decay to
6 7 -1
nitrogen-14.
5._____ Carbon-14, useful in dating the plants and animals of Earth's food chain, has a
half-life of how many years? ____________
11 430 years, the amount of carbon-14 remaining would be ___ g.
7.____ Name two locations where nuclear materials are being used. ____________________________
8.____ People who work with radioactive isotopes are advised to limit their exposure
to ___ rems per year.
9.____ A marked decrease in white-blood cell count can result from a dose of how
many rems of radiation? ___________
10. The half-life of radon-222 is approximately 4 days. If a tube containing 1.00 micro-
grams of radon were stored in a hospital clinic for 12 days, how much radon would
remain in the tube? Use the table below to determine successive half-life amounts
during the 12-day period.
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Days 0 4 8 12 ______________________________________________________________________
Radon remaining
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