Radioactive Elements/Isotopes and Half-life

Lesson (29)

Introduction
Isotopes are atoms of the same element that differ in mass because it contains
different numbers of neutrons. Some isotopes are radioactive and some are stable. Radioactive
isotopes are called radioisotopes. They are unstable because it has too many protons or an
unstable ratio of protons to neutrons. Some of these isotopes dissipate in a short period of time
while others at longer period of time.

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you can:

1. list the different radioactive elements/isotopes and their half-lives.

Try this!

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/274227064783294939/
From the above presented periodic table, list down at least 10 radioactive elements or the isotopes
of these elements that you are familiar with, except Carbon-14, Cobalt-60, and Iodine-131.
__________________________________________________________________________

Consider the following problems:

A fifty (50) mg of Iodine-131 was stored in a hospital for the treatment of

hyperthyroidism. It was noticed that after 32.4 days, about 3.13 mg remain. What is the half-life
of Iodine-131?
Solution

3.125mg x 2 = 6.25mg → 6.25mg x 2 = 12.50mg → 12.50mg x 2 = 25.0mg → 15.0mg x 2 = 50mg this means that If

we reverse the process 3.125mg ← 6.25 ����

2← 6.25mg ← 12.50 ����

2← 12.50mg ← 25 ����

2← 25.0mg ← ���� ����

2
4321

Four half-lives elapsed when 3.125 mg of Iodine-131 remained. Therefore, the half-life of
Iodine-131 is 32.4 days ÷ 4 = 8.1 days

1. What is the half-life of Carbon-14 if after 17190 years, 125g of Carbon-14 was left from
the original artifact which contains 1000g of carbon-14?

_____________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Calculate the half-life of Cobalt-60 if after 21.2 years when 75.0ng of Cobalt-60 was
administered to a patient only 4.6875mg is left in the body of the patient. This is assuming
that no Cobalt-60 has been eliminated by any other process.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Think ahead!
1. Knowing the half-lives of Iodine-131, Carbon-14, and Cobalt-60, how will you calculate
the number of half-lives that elapsed in the above problems?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. Knowing the half-lives of Carbon-131, Carbon-14, and Cobalt-60, how will you calculate
the amount that remain given the original amount of the radioactive substance and the time
it was stored (for Iodine-131) or the time it elapsed (for the artifact) or the time it was
administered (Cobalt-60).

________________________________________________________________________

Read and Ponder

A half-life (t1/2) is the time required for one-half of a given quantity of a substance
to undergo a change.1 Radioactive elements/isotopes vary in their half-lives. Some of them are
the following:1

Half-Lives of Selected Radioisotopes

Name Symbol Half-Life

Carbon-14 14 5730 years

6C

Cobalt-60 60 5.3 years

27 Co

Hydrogen-3 3 12.3 years

1H

Iodine-131 131 8.1 days

53 I

Iron-59 59 45 days
26 Fe

Molybdenum-99 99 67 hours
42 Mo

Sodium-24 24 15 hours
11 Na

Strontium-90 90 28 years
38 Sr
 Technetium -99m 99�� 6 hours
43 Tc

Uranium-235 235 710 million years

92 U

See if you can do this!

1. Compare you answer in the above activity with that in the literature regarding radioactive
elements/isotopes. Are your answers correct?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the use of knowing the half-life of a radioactive substance?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

CHEERS!!! You tried you best.

REFERENCES

1.) General, Organic, and Biochemistry, Katherine J. Denniston, Joseph J. Topping and Robert
L. Caret, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York,
NY 10020, International Edition 2004, Fourth Edition, p. 269
2.) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/radioactivity, access July 11, 2020 3.)
https://www.google.com/search?q=properties+of+radioactive+substances&source=lmns&
bih=438&biw=911&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwidvPac78TqAhUPHKYKHcfEDtYQ_AUoA
HoECAEQAA, access July 11, 2020

APPENDIX
For better understanding of the topics discussed please refer yourself to the following learning
resources.

Enrichment Videos Materials

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oUagoF_viQ
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UYcDtY53Do
3. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/chemistryformajors/chapter/radioactive-decay-2/ 4.
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/quantum-physics/in-in-nuclei/v/half-life

Properties of Radioactive Substances

Lesson (30)

Introduction
In science, property means a characteristic or trait that you can use to describe
matter by observation, measurement, or combination.16 Matter have two kinds of property,
one is physical property and the other is chemical property. Physical properties are those
properties that can be observed without changing the composition of the substance whereas
chemical properties are those that can only be observed when the substance undergo a change in
composition.17

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you can:

1. enumerate the properties of radioactive substances.

Try this!
Choose the correct words in the box that will describe the general properties of a
radioactive substance.
breakdown, time, disintegrate, without, stimulus, radiation, cannot, be, over,
seen, the, naked, the, emitted, that, radiation, can, emits, an, unstable,
breakdown, naturally, a, by, eye, be, instrument, detected

1. _____________________________________ 4.
_________________________________ 2. _____________________________________

5. _________________________________

3. _____________________________________

Think ahead!
1. What experiences you encountered in your life guided you in answering the above
activity?
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Read and Ponder

Atoms that decay naturally are radioactive substances.1 Therefore its nucleus is unstable
and will break down over time, reducing the amount of the element remaining. This
disintegration occurs and does not need an outside stimulus to occur. 2 When it decays, it emits
either particles or energy or both. The particles released can not perceive by the naked eye.
However, with the advent of science, modern instruments are already discovered and utilized to
detect them.

See if you can do this!

1. When can you say an atom as unstable?
_______________________________________________________________________

2. How do radiologist detect the effect of radiation?

________________________________________________________________________
CHEERS!!! You tried you best.

REFERENCES

1. https://books.google.com.ph, access July 11, 2020

2.
https://www.google.com/search?
q=properties+of+radioactive+substances&source=lmns&bih=43
8&biw=911&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwidvPac78TqAhUPHKYKHcfEDtYQ_AUoAHoECAEQAA
, access July 11, 2020

APPENDIX

For better understanding of the topics discussed please refer yourself to the following learning
resources.

Enrichment Videos Materials

1. https://www.askiitians.com/iit-jee-radioactive-decay-of-substances/properties-of-alpha-beta
and-gamma-rays/
2. https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-radioactive-substances-examples-uses-quiz.html
Application of Radioactive Substances
Benefits and Dangers

Lesson (31)

Introduction
The goods/commodities or anything industrially produced that man is utilizing are results
of the years of hard work of researchers, inventors, or scientists. These were done purposely to
improve the life of people or to advance its way of living. However, it cannot be avoided that the
use of some of these products are not only providing benefits but also poses dangers to its users.

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you can:

1. ascertain the application of radioactive substances in medicine, food technology,

archaeology, energy production, industry, agriculture, and biology.
2. enumerate and explain the benefits and dangers of radioactive isotopes
 Try this!
Match the of field of application of radioactive substances in column A with pictures depicting the
application in column B

Column A Column B

________________1. Food Technology A.

______________2. Medicine B.

______________ 3. Archaeology C.

______________4. Energy production D.

______________5. Agriculture E. ______________6.

Industry F. ______________7. Biology G.

A. https://www.google.com/search?q=application+of+radioactive+substances+in+medicine&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiW
q3HqsfqAhVhEqYKHabkAZoQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=application+of+radioactive+substances+in+medicine&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1D6oxZYq8wWYM_QFmgAcAB4AIAB5gGI
AZQWkgEGMS4xNi4zmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=us4KX5a1F-GkmAWmyYfQCQ&bih=526&biw=1093, access
July 12, 2020

B
https://www.google.com/search?
q=application+of+radioactive+substances+in+food+preservation&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiBn9_7p8fqAhUP EKYKHY43DnQQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=application+of+radioactive+substances+in+food+preservation&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1Cp1ylYiY8qYOGcKmgAcAB4AI
A BlQSIAbMfkgEMMC4yMS4yLjAuMS4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=AswKX4GWOY
gmAWO77igBw&bih=526&biw=1093, access July 12, 2020

C.
https://www.google.com/search?
q=pictures+applying+radioactive+substances+in+biology&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj4ltHhsMfqAhXIAKYKH QYrDVcQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=pictures+applying+radioactive+substances+in+biology&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DN-
hVYwIEWYL6LFmgAcAB4AIABsQGIAcoDkgEDMC4zmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=PNUKX_iIBsiBmAWG1rS
4 BQ&bih=526&biw=1093, access July 12, 2020

D. https://www.nrc.gov/images/materials/miau/density-gauge.gif, July 12, 2020

E.
https://www.google.com/search?
q=pictures+applying+of+radioactive+substances+in+archaeology&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj4ltHhsMfqAhXI AKYKHQYrDVcQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=pictures+applying+of+radioactive+substances+in+archaeology&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CTGFjYQWDrTWgAcAB4AIAB3
gGIAfMRkgEGMC4xNy4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=PNUKX_iIBsiBmAWG1rS4BQ&bih=526&biw=1093#im
g rc=xEMQjVOMb4HpwM, access July 12, 2020

F.
https://www.google.com/search?
q=pictures+applying+of+radioactive+substances+in+agriculture&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjkgfS8tcfqAhVqwI sBHcKPC5YQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=pictures+applying+of+radioactive+substances+in+agriculture&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CwkxVY5L8VYNrGFWgAcAB4A
I ABmAKIAYsVkgEGMC4xOC4ymAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=LdoKX6S3D-qAr7wPwp
usAk&bih=526&biw=1093, access July 2020

G.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pictures+applying+of+radioactive+substances+in+nuclear+power+plant&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjX1tDXu
MfqAhVezYsBHSifB4EQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=pictures+applying+of+radioactive+substances+in+nuclear+power+plant&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DO9AJYhtcDYNfkA2gA
c AB4AIAB
gGIAb4lkgEGMC4zMy4ymAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=it0KX9fpJN6ar7wPqL6eiAg&bih=526&biw=1093#imgrc=
S bBLjmsb8eCZxM, access July 12, 2020

Think ahead!
1. Why are radioactive substances/isotopes important in those fields?
_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________ 2.

What are the risks of using radioactive substances/isotopes?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Read and Ponder

Radioactivity was discovered by Henri Becquerel, a French Physicist, on March 1, 1896
when he accidentally opened a drawer and discovered spontaneous radioactivity.1 Two years
after,
Madame Marie Sklodowska Curie and Pierre Curie isolated radium, thus the reason of the Novel
Prizes won by Marie Curie.2 Other researchers at that time became also interested in studying the
what we call at present “radioactive substance”. Despite the toxic properties of those radioactive
substances it brought advances in nuclear and radiochemistry and that the field of medicine has
been a major beneficiary.2 Since then numerous studies were conducted and at present radioactive
substances are applied not only in medicine but also in the industry, food technology, study of
archaeological artifacts, biology, agriculture, and energy production.

In medicine for example, C-13 is used in non-invasive breath test for metabolic research
and diagnosis;3 O-17 is used in the measurement of blood velocity; 3 H-3 or Tritium is used to
study life science and drug metabolism; 3 K-42 is used in the determination of exchangeable
potassium in coronary blood flow;4I-131 is used in treating hyperthyroidism, in the diagnosis of
abnormal liver function, renal (urinary) blood flow and urinary tract obstruction; 1,4 and Tc-99m is
used to image skeleton and heart muscle but is also used for brain, thyroid, lungs (perfusion and
ventilation), liver, spleen, kidney (structure and filtration rate), gallbladder, bone marrow,
salivary and lacrimal glands, heart blood pool, infection and numerous specialized medical
studies.7In energy production, U-235 is used in nuclear plants to produce
energy by fission and is sent to heat exchangers to generate steam, which drives turbines to
produce electricity.5 In the industry, Na-24 is used oil well studies and to locate leaks in
pipelines;6 Cf-242 is used in the determination of moisture content of soil – which is very
important in road construction and building industries;6 and Ir-192 is used to test integrity of
boilers and aircraft parts.6 In archaeology, C-14 is used in carbon dating of organisms, artifacts,
etc.1,3 In biology, C
14 is used in research to determine steps involve in plant photosynthesis; P-32 and P-33 are used
in research involving biology and genetics; and Se-75 is used is protein studies in life science. 3,4
In agriculture, P-32 and N-15 are used in the study of the uptake, retention and utilization of
fertilizers.8 Finally, in food technology, Co-60 and Cs-137 are used in the efficient elimination of
bacteria, fungi and parasites in food.7,9

It cannot be denied that the use of radioisotopes/radioactive substances improve the health
of people by destroying abnormal cells in patients as in the case of cancer and detecting abnormal
growth, premature deterioration of organs, imbalance of nutrients, abnormal blood flow, and
many others in patients. The use of radioisotopes/radioactive substances, likewise, alleviated
people’s lives; for example, farmers are better assured of more and better-quality harvest; food
stuffs are freed from bacteria that cause food-borne diseases, thus increasing its shelf life. 10
Moreover, the application of these substances boosts the economy most especially of countries
patronizing their use such as United States which produced 10% of its energy in nuclear
plants,8and industries improving efficiency of production and wastage of liquids and gases by
controlling pipeline leaks.6 In addition, the use of radioisotopes is also useful to forensic
scientists because they use it in determining age, year of death and the gender of the person in
cases involving unidentified human remains by measuring Carbon-14 levels in human tissues.11,12

Every development has its downside. The use of radioactive isotopes/radioactive

substances are not only beneficial to man but it also brought some threats. For example, treating
cancer cells by the application of Iodine-131 may also damage good cells surrounding cancer
cells and exposure of medical officers, industrial specialists, farmers, food technologists,
biologists, researchers, and forensic scientists to radioactive substances is a health hazard
especially if
personal protective equipment are not used. In nuclear power plants, the threats come during
natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis because these can cause damage to the
buildings and other structures which may result to leakages, consequently may lead to the release
of the substances in the environment. There is also a problem of waste disposal specially those
substance with long half-life.
 See if you can do this!
What are some of the application of radioactivity in

1. Medicine ________________________________________________________________

2. Food Technology _________________________________________________________

3. Archaeology______________________________________________________________

4. Industry __________________________________________________________________

5. Energy Production _________________________________________________________

6. Agriculture _______________________________________________________________

7. Biology __________________________________________________________________

What are some of the benefits and dangers of radioactive substances/isotopes?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

CHEERS!!! You tried you best.

REFERENCES
1.) General, Organic, and Biochemistry, Katherine J. Denniston, Joseph J. Topping and Robert
L. Caret, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York,
NY 10020, International Edition 2004, Fourth Edition, p. 269
2.) https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+Henri+Becquerel+dicovered+radioactivity
&source=lmns&bih=526&biw=1093&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwi55Zn7v8fqAhVG6ZQKH
b QLAPYQ_AUoAHoECAEQAA, access July 12, 2020
3.) https://www.google.com/search?q=application+of+radioactive+substances+in+biology&tbm=isc
h&ved=2ahUKEwjjj6T6q8fqAhUIfpQKHV1cD1MQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=application+of+radioactive+substances+in+biology&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CfrA
RYzswEYOTRBGgAcAB4AIAB3wKIAboRkgEIMC4xMy4wLjKYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZw&scl
i ent=img&ei=MdAKX6OzJYj80QTduL2YBQ&bih=526&biw=1093#imgrc=AErr5225KZuujM , July
12, 2020
 4.) http://www.ijcasereportsandimages.com/archive/2014/009-2014-ijcri/RA-10012-09-2014-
maloth/table1.gif, July 12, 2020
5.) General, Organic, and Biochemistry, Frederick A. Bettelheim and Jerry March, Saunders College
Publishing, USA, Third Edition, p. 267

6.) https://www.google.com/search?q=radioactive+isotopes+used+in+the+industry&tbm=isch&source=iu&i
ctx=1&fir=9A5TiN-hpKjdjM%252CPoiUjwceTBXgDM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSPRIjrTsCR1-
9uB5N6nV5u9paOPQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjn5-
_wzcvqAhWKv5QKHapdCdQQ_h0wAHoECAgQBA&biw=780&bih=375#imgrc=-ojOUFPjwh6kJM, access
July 14, 2020
7.) https://www.radioactivity.eu.com/site/pages/Food_Preservation.htm, access July 14, 2020 8.)
https://www.google.com/search?q=radiactive+isotopes+used+in+agriculture&oq=radiactive+isotopes+us
ed+in+agriculture&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l3.18763j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8, access July 14, 2020 9.)
https://www.google.com/search?biw=780&bih=375&ei=xhwNX9e5MsrFmAXrwoGIBg&q=isotopes+used
+in+irradiating+foods&oq=isotopes+used+in+irradiating+foods&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIGCAAQFhAeOg
cIABBHELADOgIIADoFCAAQsQM6BQguELEDOggILhCxAxCDAToECAAQQzoHCC4QsQMQQzoHCAAQsQMQ
QzoICAAQsQMQgwE6AgguOggIABDqAhCPAToFCAAQkQI6CggAELEDEIMBEEM6CwgAELEDEIMBEJECOgQI
L
hBDOgoIABCRAhBGEPkBOgUIIRCgAToICAAQCBANEB5Q5IYBWMLiAmCYnwNoBXAAeACAAfEDiAHVTJIBCj
AuNTAuNy4yLjGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6sAEK&sclient=psy
ab&ved=0ahUKEwjXtOOi3cvqAhXKIqYKHWthAGEQ4dUDCAw&uact=5, access July 14, 2020
10.)https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/radioisotopes
research/radioisotopes-in-food-agriculture.aspx, access July 14, 2020
11.)https://www.google.com/search?ei=nzINX_vmD
WWr7wPkMOcmAs&q=what+is+use+of+carbon+dating+in+solving+crime%3F&oq=what+is+use+of+carb
on+dating+in+solving+crime
%3F&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzoHCAAQRxCwAzoCCAA6BggAEBYQHjoFCAAQs
QM6CAgAEAgQDRAeOggIIRAWEB0QHjoFCCEQoAE6BwghEAoQoAFQzbYEWKr_BWDdhAZoAnAAeAOAAe
8 IiAHoTJIBEDAuNDMuMS4xLjAuMi4xLjGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy
ab&ved=0ahUKEwi7srqN8svqAhVly4sBHZAhB7MQ4dUDCAw&uact=5, access July 14, 2020
12.)https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/applying-carbon-14-dating-recent-human-remains, access July 14, 2020
APPENDIX

For better understanding of the topics discussed please refer yourself to the following learning
resources.

Enrichment Videos Materials

1. https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-radioactive-materials-definition-examples-uses
benefits.html
2. https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=gennuclear
3. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-physics/chapter/applications-of-nuclear-
physics/ 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fES21E0qebw