Understanding Half-Life
* Definition: Half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay.
* Key Concept: The amount of time it takes for a radioactive sample to decay by half is always the same, regardless of how much material is present.
Calculation
1. Determine the fraction of the sample remaining: The sample decayed from 0.02 g to 0.01 g, which means it's now half its original size.
2. Relate this to the half-life: Since the sample decayed to half its original amount in 31 seconds, the half-life of this radioisotope is 31 seconds.
Therefore, the half-life of the radioisotope is 31 seconds.
