Question

An ancient club is found that contains pure carbon, note that the half-life:

a) Decreases with increasing temperature
b) Increases with increasing pressure
c) Remains constant over time
d) Is unaffected by environmental factors

Answer 1

The half-life of a radioactive isotope, such as carbon-14, remains constant over time and is not affected by environmental factors.

Step-by-step explanation:

The half-life of a radioactive isotope, such as carbon-14 (c), remains constant over time. It is a unique property of each radioisotope and does not change with environmental factors like temperature and pressure. The half-life is the time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay. For example, carbon-14, which is used in carbon dating, has a half-life of approximately 5,730 years and is used to determine the age of ancient objects. However, for objects much older than about 50,000 years, other radioisotopes with a longer half-life, such as uranium-238, are used in radiometric dating.