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The number of parent nuclei in a sample of a radioactive element is $N$ at time $t$ - AQA - A-Level Physics - Question 29 - 2020 - Paper 2
Question 29
The number of parent nuclei in a sample of a radioactive element is $N$ at time $t$. The radioactive element has a half-life $t_{1/2}$. The rate of decay is prop... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The number of parent nuclei in a sample of a radioactive element is $N$ at time $t$ - AQA - A-Level Physics - Question 29 - 2020 - Paper 2
Step 1
The rate of decay is proportional to
Answer
The rate of decay in a radioactive process is typically modeled by the equation:
rac{dN}{dt} = - rac{ ext{ln}(2)}{t_{1/2}} N
From this equation, we see that the rate of decay is directly proportional to the number of parent nuclei . Thus, the rate of decay increases as increases, making option A the correct answer.