44.1k views
3 votes
Calculate the percent activity of the radioactive isotope strontium-89 remaining after 5 half-lives.

User Asolace
by
6.1k points

1 Answer

5 votes
The answer to this question would be: 3.125%

Half-life is the time needed for a radioactive molecule to decay half of its mass. In this case, the strontium-89 is already gone past 5 half lives. Then, the percentage of the mass left after 5 half-lives should be:
100%*(1/2^5)= 100%/32=3..125%
User Thealexbaron
by
6.4k points