Modern Physics
Modern Physics
3rd Edition
ISBN: 9781111794378
Author: Raymond A. Serway, Clement J. Moses, Curt A. Moyer
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 13, Problem 39P
To determine

To show that mean life time is τ=1λ.

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An unknown radioactive element decays into non-radioactive substances. In 360 days the radioactivity of a sample decreases by 34 percent. (a) Find the decay constant k. (Round your answer to 5 decimal places.) (b) What is the half-life of the element? (Round your answer to two decimal places) half-life: (days) (c) How long will it take for a sample of 100 mg to decay to 59 mg? (Round your answer to two decimal places) time needed: (days)
One method for determining the age of ancient objects is by radiocarbon dating. Natural processes convert nitrogen to Carbon-14, a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 5730 years. When they are alive, animals assimilate Carbon-14 through the food chain. When an animal dies, it stops replacing its carbon and the amount of Carbon-14 decays exponentially. (a) Suppose the minimum detectable amount is 0.1% of the initial amount. What is the maximum age of a fossil that we could date using Carbon-14? (b) Suppose we wanted to date a fossil that was potentially 70 million years old. A radioactive isotope with what half-life would be required?
There was a sample of 500 milligrams of a radioactive substance to start a study. Since then, the sample has decayed by 2.6% each year. Let & be the number of years since the start of the study. Let y be the mass of the sample in milligrams. Write an exponential function showing the relationship between y and t.

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