Question

What is the amount of time required for half of a sample of radioactive isotope to break down and form a daughter isotope?

Answer 1

The amount of time is called a half life. The length of time of a half life varies with the element.

Answer 2

A radioactive isotope decays at a constant rate proportional to the number of radioactive atoms remaining. A simple way of describing the speed of decay is to see the time it takes for half of the atoms of a radioactive parent to decay and form the daughter element(s). This is called the half life.