Patients with Graves disease have an overactive thyroid gland. A common treatment uses radioactive iodine, which is taken up by the thyroid. The radiation emitted in its decay will damage the tissues of the gland. A single pill is produced with 4.0 × 1014 atoms of the isotope 131I, which has a half-life of 8.0 days.a. How many atoms remain 24 hours after the pill’s creation, when the pill is delivered to a hospital?b. Although the iodine in the pill is constantly decaying, it is still usable as long as it contains at least 1.1 × 1014 atoms of 131I. What is the maximum delay before the pill is no longer usable?

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Patients with Graves disease have an overactive thyroid gland. A common treatment uses radioactive iodine, which is taken up by the thyroid. The radiation emitted in its decay will damage the tissues of the gland. A single pill is produced with 4.0 × 1014 atoms of the isotope 131I, which has a half-life of 8.0 days.
a. How many atoms remain 24 hours after the pill’s creation, when the pill is delivered to a hospital?
b. Although the iodine in the pill is constantly decaying, it is still usable as long as it contains at least 1.1 × 1014 atoms of 131I. What is the maximum delay before the pill is no longer usable?

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