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Help math problem!!?

The half life of radium is 1690 years. If 90 grams are present now, how much will be present in 450 years?

3 Answers

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  • 1 year ago

    I use this equation for exponential decay problems:

    A(t) = a₀ e^(kt)

    Where a₀ is the initial amount,

    A(t) is the amount after time "t"

    k is the decay constant.

    If we're checking for half-life, we can set a₀ = 1, A(t) = 0.5, and t = 1690.  Now we can solve for k:

    A(t) = a₀ e^(kt)

    0.5 = 1 e^(k * 1690)

    0.5 = e^(1690k)

    ln(0.5) = 1690k

    k = ln(0.5) / 1690

    Which is approx:

    k = -0.00041015 (rounded to 5SF)

    So now our equation is:

    A(t) = a₀ e^(-0.00041015t)

    If we say that a₀ = 90, then want to see how much is left after 450 years, solve for A(450):

    A(t) = 90 e^(-0.00041015t)

    A(450) = 90 e^(-0.00041015 * 450)

    A(450) = 90 e^(-0.1845675)

    A(450) = 90(0.83146)

    A(450) = 74.832 g (rounded to 3DP)

  • ?
    Lv 6
    1 year ago

    The decay factor is 0.5^(t/1690) where t is in years.

    You see, the amount is cut in half for each multiple of 1690.

    So plug in 450 for t, calculate the factor, and multiply by 90.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 year ago

    M = 90*(1/2)^(t/1690)

    t=450--->M=74.8 g

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