Final answer:
The drug would take approximately 150 minutes (5 half-lives * 30 minutes per half-life) to be virtually gone.
Step-by-step explanation:
The half-life of a drug is the time it takes for half of the drug to be eliminated from the body. In this case, the drug has a half-life of 30 minutes. To determine how long it takes for the drug to be virtually gone, we need to find the number of half-lives it would take for the amount of drug to be less than 1 mg, which is considered negligible.
Let's assume the initial amount of the drug is 100 mg. After 30 minutes (1 half-life), the amount of drug left would be 50 mg. After 60 minutes (2 half-lives), the amount of drug left would be 25 mg. Continuing this pattern, we can see that after 5 half-lives, the amount of drug left would be less than 1 mg. Therefore, it would take approximately 150 minutes (5 half-lives * 30 minutes per half-life) for the drug to be virtually gone.