How much of 5g of radioactive element whose half life is 50days remains after 200days?
Answer Details
To determine how much of a radioactive element remains after a certain period, we use the concept of half-life. The half-life of a substance is the time it takes for half of the initial amount of a radioactive element to decay. In this example, the half-life is given as 50 days.
We want to know how much of a 5g sample remains after 200 days. First, calculate how many half-lives occur in 200 days:
Number of half-lives = Total time elapsed / Half-life
= 200 days / 50 days
= 4 half-lives
Next, we calculate the remaining amount after each half-life period:
Initial amount: 5g
After first half-life (50 days): 5g / 2 = 2.5g
After second half-life (100 days): 2.5g / 2 = 1.25g
After third half-life (150 days): 1.25g / 2 = 0.625g
After fourth half-life (200 days): 0.625g / 2 = 0.3125g
After 200 days, 0.31g of the radioactive element remains.