The Random Nature of Decay Flashcards

All 3 cards in this deck

Why can't you predict when a particular nucleus will decay?

Radioactive decay is a random (unpredictable) process.

Why do repeated count-rate readings from a source scatter about a line of best fit?

Decay is random, so the count rate is not constant — there are variations with each reading.

What does half-life allow us to predict, despite decay being random?

The activity (or number of undecayed nuclei) of a very large number of nuclei during the decay process.