Question

What relationship can you state about mass and # of half lives? State 3 other relationships that can be identified in the half-life simulation. Be specific.

Answer 1

A longer half-life means lower activity (fewer Ci or Bq per gram for the same number of atoms) A heavier nuclide (the number part of the nuclide is larger) means fewer atoms in a gram, so there's less radioactivity per gram.

Answer 2

The relationship between mass and number of half-lives in a half-life simulation is that the mass decreases by a certain factor with each half-life. For example, if the half-life of a substance is 10 years and the initial mass is 100 grams, after 10 years the mass will be 50 grams, after 20 years the mass will be 25 grams, and so on.

Three other relationships that can be identified in a half-life simulation are:

The relationship between the half-life and the decay rate: The shorter the half-life, the faster the decay rate, and vice versa.
The relationship between the initial mass and the final mass: The larger the initial mass, the larger the final mass will be, and vice versa.
The relationship between the number of half-lives and the final mass: The more half-lives that pass, the smaller the final mass will be. For example, if the half-life of a substance is 10 years and the initial mass is 100 grams, after 20 years the final mass will be smaller than after 10 years, and after 30 years the final mass will be smaller than after 20 years.