Question

The Curies took pure uranium and a uranium-containing substance. When they measured the amount of radioactivity, there was more in the uranium-containing substance than the pure uranium. Which idea did the Curies most likely develop?

There are more radioactive substances than uranium.
Radioactivity is magnified by mixed substances.
The date of the material varied between the pure substance and mixed substance.
The half-life of uranium in a mixed substance is less than pure uranium.

Answer 1

"There are more radioactive substances than uranium."

Explanation: the Curies found pitchblende more active than pure uranium, so they concluded the ore contained other, more radioactive elements (later identified as polonium and radium). The other choices are inconsistent with their observations.