Radioactive Decay

Cards (5)

Why are some isotopes unbalanced?
An imbalance between the number of protons and neutrons
Why do isotopes undergo nuclear decay?
To try and release radiation to become more stable
What is a half life?
The time it takes for the number of radioactive nuclei to halve in number
What makes nuclear decay random in nature?
It's impossible to predict when a nucleus will decay
Why should measurements of radiation be taken over a long time or repeated several times?
To reduce the effect of random fluctuations