Question

At the beginning of an experiment, a scientist has 176 grams of radioactive goo. After 165 minutes, her sample has decayed to 5.5 grams.

What is the half-life of the goo in minutes?

Find a formula for G(t) , the amount of goo remaining at time t.G(t)=?

How many grams of goo will remain after 50 minutes? ...?

Answer 1

The half-life equation is written as:

An = Aoe^-kt

We use this equation for the solution. We do as follows:

5.5 = 176e^-k(165)
k = 0.02
What is the half-life of the goo in minutes?

0.5 = e^-0.02t
t = 34.66 minutes <----HALF-LIFE


Find a formula for G(t) , the amount of goo remaining at time t.G(t)=?

G(t) = 176e^-0.02t

How many grams of goo will remain after 50 minutes?

G(t) = 176e^-0.02(50) = 64.75 g