A radioactive element has a decay constant of 0.077s-1, calculate its half life

Assessment: WAEC SSCE - Physics - 2003 (Objective) Subject: Physics

Question 1 Report

A radioactive element has a decay constant of 0.077s-1, calculate its half life
Answer Details
The decay constant (λ) of a radioactive element is defined as the probability of decay of an individual nucleus per unit time. It can be mathematically shown that the number of nuclei (N) of a radioactive element remaining after time (t) is given by: N = N0 e-λt where N0 is the initial number of nuclei. The half-life of a radioactive element is the time taken for half of the radioactive nuclei to decay. Therefore, when N = 1/2 N0, we can rearrange the above equation to obtain the half-life (t1/2): t1/2 = ln2/λ Substituting the given value of the decay constant, we get: t1/2 = ln2/0.077 s-1 ≈ 9.0 s Therefore, the half-life of the radioactive element is approximately 9.0 s. Answer: 9.0s
Read lesson note on Structure Of The Atom (Nigeria Only) (WAEC)
View Answer

Related Questions

1

A moving object is said to have a uniform acceleration if its
2

A ball f mass 5.0kg hits a smooth vertical wall normally with a speed of 2ms-1. Determine the magnitude of the resulting impulse
3

A force acts on a body for 0.5s changing its momentum from 16.0kg ms-1 to 21.0kgms-1, calculate the magnitude of the force
4

The period of an oscillatory motion is defined as the
5

The tendency of a body to remain at least when a force is supplied to it is called
6

A tuber of cassava can be processed into powder. This explains the face that
7

The mass on a loaded spiral spring oscillates vertically between two extreme positions P and R equidistant from the equilibrium position Q. Which of the foll...
8

A piece of metal of relative density 5.0 weighs 60N in air. Calculate its weight when fully immersed in water

Download The App On Google Playstore

Everything you need to excel in your exams

Green Bridge CBT Mobile App
Personalized AI Learning Chat Assistant
200,000+ Exam Questions Across IGCSE, JAMB, WAEC & NECO
Over 3,900 Lesson Notes
Offline Support - Learn Anytime, Anywhere
Green Bridge Timetable
Literature Summaries & Potential Questions
Track Your Performance & Progress
In-depth Explanations for Comprehensive Learning