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A radioactive substance has a half-life of 5 million years. What is the age of a rock in which 25% of the original radioactive atoms remain? You must show your work or explain how you came up with your answer for full credit.

1 Answer

9 votes

Answer:

10 million years

Step-by-step explanation:

For a sample to decay to 25% of its original amount, 2 half lives must have passed. Since one half life is 5 million years, multiplying this by 2 gives us that 2 half lives is 10 million years.

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