Iodine-131 is radioactive. It has a half-life of 8.0 days.
The nuclide notation for iodine-131 is 53131I^{131}_{53}\text{I}53131I.
State the composition of the nucleus of iodine-131.
Iodine-131 decays by β\betaβ-decay to an isotope of xenon, Xe\text{Xe}Xe.
Complete the equation for the decay of iodine-131:
53131I→‾β+‾Xe ^{131}_{53}\text{I} \rightarrow \underline{\quad\quad} \beta + \underline{\quad\quad} \text{Xe} 53131I→β+XeThe count rate from a sample of iodine-131 is 480 counts/s480\text{ counts/s}480 counts/s.
Predict the count rate from the sample after 24 days.
State two social, economic, or environmental issues involved in the storage of radioactive waste materials with very long half-lives.
120 exam-style questions on CIE IGCSE Physics 5.2.3a Radioactive decay. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.