Question

The half-life of palladium-100 is 4 days. After 20 days a sample has been reduced to a mass of 0.375 g. a. What was the initial mass of the sample?

Answer 1

The initial mass of the palladium-100 sample was 12 g.

Step-by-step explanation:

The half-life of palladium-100 is 4 days. After 20 days, a sample has been reduced to a mass of 0.375 g. To find the initial mass of the sample, we can use the formula:

Remaining mass = Initial mass * (1/2)^(Number of half-lives)

Number of half-lives = Elapsed time / Half-life

Let's plug in the given values:

Remaining mass = 0.375 g

Elapsed time = 20 days

Half-life = 4 days

Number of half-lives = 20 / 4 = 5

Now we can rearrange the formula to solve for the initial mass:

Initial mass = Remaining mass * (2)^(Number of half-lives)

Initial mass = 0.375 g * (2)^5

Initial mass = 0.375 g * 32

Initial mass = 12 g

The initial mass of the sample was 12 g.