Question

What does half-life mean?

Answer 1

1. Half-life period of any chemical reaction is defined as the concentration of the reactant being equal to the concentration of the product.
2. Mathematically it can be denoted as follows:
   ${\mathrm{t}}_{\frac{1}{2}}=\frac{0.693}{\mathrm{k}}$; where k is the rate of reaction and t is the time period of the half-life reaction.
3. There is no such concentration term is being involved in the half-life period of a first-order reaction.
4. The radioactive process generally involves the half-life period, the half-life period is required for the complete decay of one-half of atomic nuclei.
5. Example: Radioactive isotope Cobalt 60 is having half-life of 5.26 years and can be used in radiotherapy.