Question

An isotope has a half-life of 16 hours. How much of the isotope will be left after 64 hours?

O 1/2
0 1/8
O 1/4
O 1/16

Answer 1

After four half-lives of 16 hours each, there will be 1/16 of the original amount of isotope left.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of the student's question is the concept of half-life, which is used to describe the decay process of isotopes in Chemistry and Physics. According to the definition of half-life, after each interval of time equal to one half-life, half of the radioactive isotope remains. When the half-life is 16 hours, after one half-life (16 hours), there would be 1/2 of the original amount.

After two half-lives (32 hours), there would be 1/4 of the original amount. After three half-lives (48 hours), there would be 1/8 of the original amount. Finally, after four half-lives (64 hours), there will be 1/16 of the original amount left.