Half-life

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/half-life

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How long is Half-life?Tellurium-128, exceeding 10^24 years
2. What is the mathematical basis?Characterizes first-order kinetic decay processes
3. What is the originator of the concept?Ernest Rutherford
4. Why do scientists use half-life to find out how old rocks are?By measuring how much of a radioactive element and its stable product are in a rock, scientists can calculate how many half-lives have passed, telling the rock's age.
5. How does half-life help doctors with medicine?Doctors use the half-life of a drug to know how long it stays active in the body, helping them decide how often to give it.

Exponential Decay: A process where a quantity decreases at a rate proportional to its current value.
Radioisotope: An isotope of an element that is unstable and undergoes radioactive decay.
Radiometric Dating: A method used to date materials such as rocks or archaeological artifacts based on the decay of radioactive isotopes.
Mean Lifetime: The average lifespan of a decaying particle or nucleus, related to half-life.