Radium-226 is a common isotope on Earth, but has a half-life of about 1600 years. Given that Earth is some 5 billion years old, why is there any radium at all?
A. Radium-226 and Radium-218 undergo a series of transmutation reactions of alpha and beta decay to repeatedly become one another approximately every 1600 years.
B. Radium-226 is a "daughter" isotope and the result of the radioactive decay of uranium.
C. Radium-226 is one of several self-transmutating isotopes of the elements of the periodic table and is able to replenish itself so that it is never depleted.
D. Radium-226 and Astatine-218 are converted back and forth via transmutation to one another at each of their respective half-life cycles.
Answer: B
You might also like to view...
A number of alternatives to the weighted linear combination method have been proposed in the literature. Describe one such alternative.
What will be an ideal response?
The stability of the air layer close to the earth's surface can vary markedly. Much of this variation is caused by:
A) changes in wind direction. B) changes in wind speed. C) changes in pressure. D) changes in heating or cooling of the surface.
Per capita oil demand is going to increase worldwide because of ________
A) less advancement in developing countries for oil-dependent technologies B) less access to oil in the Earth's crust C) more need for oil in producing plastics D) more need for oil in producing paint E) greater access to automobiles in developing countries
The Palisades sill is a Cretaceous age basaltic intrusion associated with compressional mountain building
a. True b. False