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5.3 define what is meant by the half-life of an isotope and explain how this would affect its use in biochemistry
define what is meant by the half-life of an isotope and explain how this would affect its use in biochemistry
- Half-life is defined as the time taken for 50% of the radioactive atoms to disintegrate. i.e. half of the radioactive mass decay. The length of a half- life varies between extremely long, 710 million years for uranium-235, to very short at 0.16 seconds for polonium-216.
- Substances with short or long half-lives can be used in Biochemistry. Radioactive substances, even those with long half-lives in small doses, will not effect the functioning of an organism.