Radioactive Decay Calculator
Calculate remaining radioactive activity from initial activity, half-life, and elapsed time.
Inputs
Results
Remaining Activity
314,980.26 Bq
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Initial Activity, Half-Life, and Time Unit.
- Set Elapsed Time.
- Review the Remaining Activity (Bq) result.
- Use Fraction Remaining and Percent Decayed (%) to inform your decision.
- Use the chart to visualize the results and explore different scenarios by adjusting inputs.
What each input means
- Initial Activity
- Initial radioactive activity in becquerels (disintegrations per second). 1 Ci = 3.7×10¹⁰ Bq.
- Half-Life
- Time for activity to decrease by half. Set the unit below.
- Time Unit
- 1=Seconds, 2=Minutes, 3=Hours, 4=Days, 5=Years
- Elapsed Time
- Time elapsed since the initial activity measurement, in the same unit as the half-life.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersInitial Activity = 1000000, Half-Life = 30, Time Unit = 5, Elapsed Time = 50 = 4 input(s) provided
- Calculate Remaining ActivityRemaining Activity314980.262 = 314980.262
- Calculate Fraction RemainingFraction Remaining0.315 = 0.315
- Calculate Percent DecayedPercent Decayed68.5 = 68.5%
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