Which statement about radioisotopes is FALSE?

A) Potassium-40 has an extremely long half-life.
B) Carbon-14 is typically used to date sedimentary rock.
C) The ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 is used in dating fossils.
D) The half-life of a radioisotope does not vary with temperature or pressure.
E) The nucleus of a radioisotope can change into that of a different element during decay.

Radioisotopes

Unstable isotopes that spontaneously emit radiation; also called radioactive isotopes.

Half-Life

The time required for half the atoms of a radioactive substance to decay or for a drug or other substance to lose half its pharmacologic, physiologic, or radiologic activity.

Potassium-40

A radioactive isotope of potassium used in dating geological materials, as it decays into argon-40 over a known period of time.