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Question

What is the half-life of Potassium-40?


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Solution

Isotope:

Elements that have the same atomic number but different mass numbers are termed Isotopes.

Potassium here has three isotopes, K39(93.3%),K40(0.01%)andK41(6.7%).

Potassium-40 K40 which is a radioactive isotope of potassium usually has two half-lives which are mainly based on what type of beta decay that it undergoes.

If Potassium-40 decays through beta emission then its half-life will be 1.28×109years.

On the other hand, if potassium-40 decays through positron emission the half-life will be 1.19×1010years.


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