What is a Half-Life?

A half-life is the time it takes for half of a substance to decay or break down. Each time a
half-life passes, only half of what was there before remains. This happens repeatedly,
getting smaller and smaller over time.
For example:
 Start: 100g of a substance
 After 1 half-life: 50g left
 After 2 half-lives: 25g left
 After 3 half-lives: 12.5g left
 After 4 half-lives: 6.25g left
The substance keeps breaking down until almost none is left.

Question 1:
A substance starts with 64g. How much will remain after:
 1 half-life?
 3 half-lives?
Solution:
Each half-life cuts the amount in half.
 After 1 half-life:
o 64g ÷ 2 = 32g left
 After 3 half-lives:
o First half-life: 64g → 32g
o Second half-life: 32g → 16g
o Third half-life: 16g → 8g
Answer: After 3 half-lives, 8g remain.

Question 2:
A substance has a half-life of 20 minutes and starts with 1g. How much is left after 2 hours?
Solution:
First, figure out how many half-lives happen in 2 hours:
 2 hours = 120 minutes
 Each half-life is 20 minutes
 120 ÷ 20 = 6 half-lives
Now, reduce the amount 6 times:
1. 1g → 0.5g
2. 0.5g → 0.25g
3. 0.25g → 0.125g
4. 0.125g → 0.0625g
5. 0.0625g → 0.03125g
6. 0.03125g → 0.015625g
Answer: After 2 hours, 0.015625g remain.
Question 3:
A substance has a half-life of 5 minutes and starts with 2048g. How much
remains after 60 minutes?
Solution:
First, calculate the number of half-lives:
 60 minutes ÷ 5 minutes per half-life = 12 half-lives
Now, reduce the amount 12 times:
1. 2048g → 1024g
2. 1024g → 512g
3. 512g → 256g
4. 256g → 128g
5. 128g → 64g
6. 64g → 32g
7. 32g → 16g
8. 16g → 8g
9. 8g → 4g
10. 4g → 2g
11. 2g → 1g
12. 1g → 0.5g
Answer: After 60 minutes, 0.5g remain.

Question 4:
A sample of uranium starts at 1024g and decays to 1g in 24 hours. What is the half-life?
Solution:
Find the number of half-lives:
1. 1024g → 512g
2. 512g → 256g
3. 256g → 128g
4. 128g → 64g
5. 64g → 32g
6. 32g → 16g
7. 16g → 8g
8. 8g → 4g
9. 4g → 2g
10. 2g → 1g
Total 10 half-lives happened.
Now, divide the total time:
 24 hours ÷ 10 = 2.4 hours per half-life
Answer: The half-life is 2.4 hours.

Question 5:
A sample starts at 512g and decays to 0.5g in 3 hours. What is its half-life?
Solution:
Find the number of half-lives:
1. 512g → 256g
2. 256g → 128g
3. 128g → 64g
4. 64g → 32g
5. 32g → 16g
6. 16g → 8g
7. 8g → 4g
8. 4g → 2g
9. 2g → 1g
10. 1g → 0.5g
Total 10 half-lives happened.
Now, divide the total time:
 3 hours ÷ 10 = 0.3 hours (18 minutes) per half-life
Answer: The half-life is 18 minutes.

Question 6:
A substance has a half-life of 20 minutes. If 1g remains after 4 hours, what was the initial
amount?
Solution:
Find the number of half-lives:
 4 hours = 240 minutes
 240 ÷ 20 = 12 half-lives
Now, work backward, doubling 12 times:
1. 1g → 2g
2. 2g → 4g
3. 4g → 8g
4. 8g → 16g
5. 16g → 32g
6. 32g → 64g
7. 64g → 128g
8. 128g → 256g
9. 256g → 512g
10. 512g → 1024g
11. 1024g → 2048g
12. 2048g → 4096g
Answer: The initial amount was 4096g.

Question 7:
A sample starts at 2048g and decays to 1g in 22 hours. What is the half-life?
Solution:
Find the number of half-lives:
1. 2048g → 1024g
2. 1024g → 512g
3. 512g → 256g
4. 256g → 128g
5. 128g → 64g
6. 64g → 32g
7. 32g → 16g
8. 16g → 8g
9. 8g → 4g
10. 4g → 2g
11. 2g → 1g
Total 11 half-lives happened.
Now, divide the total time:
 22 hours ÷ 11 = 2 hours per half-life
Answer: The half-life is 2 hours.

Question 1:
Radioactive radium, mass number 226, atomic number 88, undergoes alpha decay. Write
the radioactive equation for this reaction.
Solution:
In alpha decay, an element loses an alpha particle, which consists of 2 protons and 2
neutrons (Helium nucleus: ⁴₂He).
 The mass number decreases by 4
 The atomic number decreases by 2
Since Radium (Ra) is losing an alpha particle:
 New mass number = 226 - 4 = 222
 New atomic number = 88 - 2 = 86
 Element with atomic number 86 is Radon (Rn)
ANWER->Ra-226 → Rn-222 + alpha particle (Helium nucleus)

Question 2:
Radioactive carbon, mass number 14, atomic number 6, undergoes beta decay. Write the
radioactive equation for this reaction.
Solution:
In beta decay, a neutron converts into a proton and emits a beta particle (⁰₋₁e).
 The mass number stays the same
 The atomic number increases by 1
Since Carbon (C) undergoes beta decay:
 New atomic number = 6 + 1 = 7
 Element with atomic number 7 is Nitrogen (N)
ANWER->C-14 → N-14 + beta particle (electron)

Question 3:
Radioactive palladium, mass number 110, atomic number 46, undergoes 2 beta decays.
Write the radioactive equation for this reaction.
Solution:
Each beta decay converts a neutron into a proton, so doing this twice means:
 The mass number stays the same
 The atomic number increases by 2
Since Palladium (Pd) undergoes 2 beta decays:
 New atomic number = 46 + 2 = 48
 Element with atomic number 48 is Cadmium (Cd)
ANSWER->Pd-110 → Cd-110 + 2 beta particles

Question 4:
Radioactive plutonium, mass number 240, atomic number 94, undergoes alpha and beta
decay. Write the radioactive equation for this reaction.
Solution:
Since Plutonium (Pu) undergoes alpha and beta decay, we break it into two steps:
Step 1: Alpha Decay
 Alpha decay removes an alpha particle (⁴₂He)
 The mass number decreases by 4
 The atomic number decreases by 2
 New atomic number = 94 - 2 = 92
 Element with atomic number 92 is Uranium (U)
Step 2: Beta Decay
 Beta decay converts a neutron into a proton
 The mass number stays the same
 The atomic number increases by 1
 New atomic number = 92 + 1 = 93
 Element with atomic number 93 is Neptunium (Np)
ANSWER->Pu-240 → Np-236 + alpha particle + beta particle