Question

select all the correct answers. the isotope silicon - 32 decays into phosphorus - 32. silicon - 32 has a half - life of 170 years and can be used to find the age of rocks it is contained in. which two statements are true regarding this scenario? silicon - 32 is the stable daughter isotope and phosphorous - 32 is the unstable parent isotope. in a given rock sample, the amount of silicon - 32 isotope gets divided in half about every 170 years. the half - life can be used to determine the amount of silicon - 32 that has decayed from the time the closure temperature was reached. in a given rock sample, as the amount of silicon - 32 lessens, so does the amount of phosphorous - 32. in a given rock sample, the amount of silicon - 32 is always equal to the amount of phosphorous - 32.

Explanation:

• The half - life of an isotope is the time it takes for half of the amount of that isotope to decay. So, for silicon - 32 with a half - life of 170 years, in a given rock sample, the amount of silicon - 32 isotope gets divided in half about every 170 years.
• The half - life can be used in radiometric dating to determine the amount of an isotope (like silicon - 32) that has decayed since the closure temperature was reached.
• Silicon - 32 is the parent isotope and phosphorus - 32 is the daughter isotope. As silicon - 32 decays, the amount of phosphorus - 32 increases.

Answer:

• In a given rock sample, the amount of silicon - 32 isotope gets divided in half about every 170 years.
• The half - life can be used to determine the amount of silicon - 32 that has decayed from the time the closure temperature was reached.