142,758 views
6 votes
6 votes
How many days does it take for 16 g of Phosphorous to decay to 1.0g? The half-life of Phosphorous is 17 days.

User Philnash
by
2.5k points

1 Answer

11 votes
11 votes

If the half-life is 17 day then in 17 days 16/2 g of Phosphorous would have decayed leaving behind 16/2 g. This means 8 grams are left.

After another 17 days (making a total of 34 days), 8/2 g would have decayed leaving behind 8/2 g. This means 4 grams are left,

After another 17 days (making a total of 51 days), 4/2 g would have decayed leaving behind 4/2 g. This means 2 grams are left.

After another 17 days (making a total of 68 days), 2/2 g would have decayed leaving behind 2/2 g. This means 1 grams are left.

Hence it would take 68 days for 16g of phosphorus to decay to 1g

User Svetoslav Dimitrov
by
2.7k points