GEOL 1020 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Continental Crust, Oceanic Crust, Beta Decay
18 Oct 2016
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Radioactivity (lectures 6, 7, 8: provide actual ages of rocks. It has no daughter atoms when it first forms, so it only has parent atoms. Once it is crystalized, the mineral becomes closed and the products of radioactive decay begin to accumulate. Over time, more and more daughter products accumulate: 3 most common radioactive substances that we use to determine the ages of things. Potassium: 3 kinds of radioactivity (lecture 8) During alpha decay an atom spits out two protons and two neutrons from its nucleus: alpha decay usually happens in larger, heavier atoms. A neutron sends its electron packing, literally ejecting it from the nucleus at high speed. Beta de(cid:272)a(cid:455) i(cid:374)(cid:272)rease a(cid:374) ato(cid:373)"s ele(cid:272)tro(cid:374) (cid:272)ou(cid:374)t (cid:271)y 1. Capture of a beta particle (e^- into proton) It is enclosed within a mineral, decay that leads to daughter product thus giving us deep. Time: to calculate d/n after any subsequent number of t1/2, simply double the previous value and add one.
