Question

After decaying for 48 hours,  l/16 

of the original mass of a radioisotope sample remains unchanged. What is the half-life of this radioisotope?

Answer 1

After the first half-life, 1/2 is unchanged. After the 2nd one, 1/4 remains. After the 4th one, 1/16 remains. So you have 4 half-lives in 48 hours, the half-life is thus 12 hours.