Question

Chemists have determined that elements with atomic numbers greater than 92 are all

radioactive. In general, their half-lives are much shorter than the age of the universe. This
means that they no longer exist in nature and have all been artificially produced by
scientists in nuclear reactions.
Elements 93 through 105 in the periodic table have been created and named, and
scientists have claimed discovery of elements 106 and 107. The transuranium elements,
as they are called, become less stable as the atomic number and mass increase. For
example, element number 93, neptunium, has a half-life of two million years, while
element number 104, kurchatovium, has a half-life of 70 seconds.
The transuranium elements are the heaviest elements that exist and are readily
fissionable when subjected to nuclear bombardment. Chemists studying these elements
and the periodic table predict that stable elements may be found around atomic numbers
114 or 126.
According to the passage, what can we predict about the half-life of element number 105?
It is:
O
A. greater than 2 million years
B. incalculable (not capable of being determined)
C. measured in days or weeks
D. greater than the other transuranium elements
E. less than 70 seconds

Answer 1

B. incalculable (not capable of being determined)

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage states that elements with atomic numbers greater than 92 are all radioactive and that their half-lives are much shorter than the age of the universe. It also states that elements 93 through 105 in the periodic table have been created and named, but it does not provide any information about the half-life of element number 105 specifically, therefore it is incalculable.