Final answer:
The half-life of radium-226 (Ra-226) is 1600 years, and it's essential for dating objects and medical treatments involving radioactive isotopes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The half-life of radium-226 (Ra-226) is 1600 years. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is B) 1590 years. This period of time represents the duration required for half of the radium-226 in a sample to decay into other elements.
Understanding the concept of half-life is important in fields such as archeology, geology, and medicine, where it helps to determine the age of objects or to plan treatment schedules involving radioactive isotopes. The half-life varies significantly among different radioactive isotopes due to their differing nuclear structures and stability, leading to a wide range of half-life values from fractions of a second to billions of years.