How do geologists know how to determine half-lives and decay-rates?

What will be an ideal response?


Answer: Radioactive-decay rates are measured in the laboratory by detecting the energy released by each decay event. Decay rates are expressed as the number of decays per unit of time per gram of parent isotope. Decay rates measured in different laboratories are the same within the uncertainty of the measurement. International committees establish the universally used decay rates based on the most reliable and upto-date laboratory values. Laboratory experiments show that decay rates are unaffected by changes in temperature, pressure, variations in gravitational field, or different magnetic fields.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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Where is acid precipitation most commonly found?

a. Next to nuclear power plants b. Downwind of industrial emissions c. Upwind of industrial emissions d. Next to residential areas

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Cuba exemplifies a new direction in food production through

A) programs to convert citizens to a vegetarian diet. B) urban agriculture. C) using polyculture farms. D) Green Revolution high-yield grains.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Which of the following is oxidation?

A) loss of electrons B) loss of hydrogen C) gain of oxygen D) all of these

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

The term "ground water mining" refers to

A) the use of ground water to mine minerals. B) the removal of overlying rock to reach ground water. C) the removal of ground water at a rate faster than that at which it can be replaced. D) the excavation of tunnels to reach ground water.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences