Radioactive decay, half-life and uses

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Question 22

Easy

A student measures the activity of two radioactive samples, Isotope X and Isotope Y, over a period of 30 days. Both samples initially have an activity of 200 Bq. The results are recorded in the table below.

A line graph showing the decay curves of Isotope X and Isotope Y. The vertical axis shows Activity in Bq from 0 to 200. The horizontal axis shows Time in days from 0 to 30. Both curves start at 200 Bq. The curve for Isotope X falls slowly to 106 Bq by day 30, while the curve for Isotope Y falls rapidly to 10 Bq by day 30.

Time (days)	Activity of Isotope X (Bq)	Activity of Isotope Y (Bq)
0	200	200
5	180	120
10	162	72
15	146	43
20	131	26
25	118	16
30	106	10

Suggest one reason why the sample of Isotope X could pose a greater long-term hazard to humans than the sample of Isotope Y.

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Radioactive decay, half-life and uses

Question 22

Radioactive decay, half-life and uses Questions

Radioactive decay, half-life and uses

Question 22

Radioactive decay, half-life and uses Questions