Decay correct is a method of adjusting the measurements of radioactive decay obtained at two different time points so that they may be used as a single data set. If a chemical compound is tagged with a radioactive isotope then the amount of radiation released in a period of time is proportional to the number of atoms of the isotope; but as time passes some of the isotope decays and the isotope remaining (which is measured by the radiation) is no longer the same as the amount of compound present. Decay correction is a mathematical method of determining the amount of compound present given the amount of isotope remaining.
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