In an old IB exam question, it is asked to find the decay activity after a certain amount of hours however, they also stated that there was average background activity present. In such case, how would you incorporate it into the equation of activity. Thank you for these great videos.
@@donerphysics Thank you for the reply! That is what I did and the answer was not correct apparently, the markscheme showed that they had included the b.a in the total initial activity and then multiplied the final answer by two. On the other hand in some other similar questions the answer was found by calculating it as normal which was what you are also showing in the video.
This video is on integer half lives. There is another one with the other formula. N=No e ^ (llambda t) where llambda is called the decay constant. ua-cam.com/video/hkZYGGCA6kQ/v-deo.html
I'm confused about probability and half-lives. I don't quite understand the connection between the two. I thought half-life is just defined as a set amount of time it takes for a particular substance to halve its original amount. I don't understand how probability is involved. Can you explain? Thanks and great video btw!
If the probability of a single nucleus decaying were higher, the half life would be shorter. Just be aware that we don't know when an individual nucleus will decay, we can only talk about the probability of it decaying.
This video is missing a lot of information about Half-lives, such as the decay constant, Equations for Activity and Number of radioactive nuclei, background radiation, etc...
at 5:30 everytime you said the unit of time it changed!! haha It went from 3 hours to 6 days to 9 years :')
Yes, my brain clutch was slipping that day. I added an annotation.
you are a DEMIGOD
HL3 pls... everytime i hear the words half-life whether it's math or physics or chemistry seriously. They just need to release it hahaha
In an old IB exam question, it is asked to find the decay activity after a certain amount of hours however, they also stated that there was average background activity present. In such case, how would you incorporate it into the equation of activity.
Thank you for these great videos.
Subtract the background from any activities that you are given, and then determine from these values how long it took for the activity to half.
@@donerphysics Thank you for the reply! That is what I did and the answer was not correct apparently, the markscheme showed that they had included the b.a in the total initial activity and then multiplied the final answer by two. On the other hand in some other similar questions the answer was found by calculating it as normal which was what you are also showing in the video.
In my class, the teacher gave us another formula, N x e^(kt) where k = e^(1/halflife). Whats this formula about?
This video is on integer half lives. There is another one with the other formula. N=No e ^ (llambda t) where llambda is called the decay constant. ua-cam.com/video/hkZYGGCA6kQ/v-deo.html
What does it mean for a particle to decay ?
It simply means that the nucleus is unstable and it emits a particle and becomes more stable.
I'm confused about probability and half-lives. I don't quite understand the connection between the two. I thought half-life is just defined as a set amount of time it takes for a particular substance to halve its original amount. I don't understand how probability is involved. Can you explain? Thanks and great video btw!
If the probability of a single nucleus decaying were higher, the half life would be shorter. Just be aware that we don't know when an individual nucleus will decay, we can only talk about the probability of it decaying.
This video is missing a lot of information about Half-lives, such as the decay constant, Equations for Activity and Number of radioactive nuclei, background radiation, etc...
That is HL material. Watch the videos for topic 12.2 including "The Decay Constant"
@@donerphysics Alright. Thank you!