Modelling Decay

Cards (6)

What is the activity of an unstable nucleus?
The rate at which a source of unstable nuclei decays.
What is the unit of radioactive activity?
Becquerel (Bq)
What is a count-rate?
The number of radioactive decays per second for a radioactive source.
What detector can be used to measure count-rate?
Geiger-Muller tube
Describe the nature of radioactive decay.
Random, which nuclei decays and when is determined only by chance, it is impossible to predict
What is the half-life of a radioactive isotope?
The time taken for the number of unstable nuclei in a substance to halve, or the time it takes for the count rate from a sample to fall to half its initial level