1. Half-life
1.1. it is the time it takes for one half of a sample to decay
1.1.1. Carbon-14 = 5,730 years
1.1.2. Cobalt-60 = 5.3 years
1.1.3. Iodine-131 = 8 days
1.1.4. Technitium-99m = 6 hours
1.2. Uses of an Element's Half-Life
1.2.1. Organ and X-Ray Imaging
1.2.2. Archaeological Dating
1.2.3. Geological Dating
1.2.4. Cancer Therapy
2. Processes
2.1. Radioactive Decay
2.1.1. the process by which an unstable radioactive nucleus emits radiation forming a nucleus of new composition
2.1.1.1. alpha decay
2.1.1.2. beta decay
2.1.1.3. postiron emission
2.1.1.4. gamma emission
2.2. Nuclear Fusion
2.2.1. occurs when two light nuclei join together to form a larger nucleus
2.3. Nuclear Fission
2.3.1. it is the splitting apart of a heavy nucleus into lighter nuclei and neutrons
3. Radioactive Isotopes
3.1. These are elements that spontaneously emits energy to form a more stable nucleus; such elements are unstable
3.2. Also called radioisotopes
4. Nuclear Radiation
4.1. the energy particles or rays that are given off from a radioactive element, such as uranium, as it decays
4.2. Types of Radiation
4.2.1. Alpha Particle
4.2.1.1. is a high energy particle that contains 2 protons and 2 neutrons
4.2.2. Beta Particle
4.2.2.1. is a high energy electron that is formed when a neutron is converted to a proton and an electron
4.2.3. Positron
4.2.3.1. also called antiparticle of a beta particle since their charges are different but their masses are the same
4.2.4. Gamma Rays
4.2.4.1. are high energy radiation released from a radioactive nucleus which have no mass or charge
5. Radioactivity
5.1. is the nuclear radiation emitted by a radioactive isotope of the known isotopes
5.2. Detecting and Measuring Radioactivity
5.2.1. a small portable device called "Geiger Counter" is used for measuring radioactivity
5.2.2. the amount of radioactivity in a sample is measured by the following units:
5.2.2.1. number of nuclei that decay per unit time - disintegrations per second.
5.2.2.2. Curie (Ci)
5.2.2.3. Becquerel (Bq)