Concept explainers
A friend asks if a radioactive substance with a half-life of 1 day will be entirely gone at the end of 2 days. What is your answer?
The amount of the radioactive material at the end of two days.
Explanation of Solution
Introduction:
The duration in which the amount of radioactive material reduces to half of its initial amount is called the half-life. The amount of the radioactive material becomes half of initial amount for every half-life.
The half-life of the radioactive substance is 1 day. So, the half the amount of radioactive substance becomes half after one day.
The half amount of the radioactive substance of initial amount becomes initial amount for the second day. At the end of the second day, half of the initial amount of substance again reduces to half. So, the amount of the radioactive substance left at the end of second day is the one-fourth of the initial amount of the initial amount of radioactive substance at the beginning of day 1.
Conclusion:
Thus, the one-fourth amount of radioactive substance of initial amount at the beginning of day 1.
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