Radioactive decay is a very useful tool in physics and has many real world appli

Question

Radioactive decay is a very useful tool in physics and has many real world applications. So what you are going to do this week is look at a plot if a radioactive decay and determines time lines and eventually the isotope in question

1) Determine the half-life of this isotope using the equation N=N(0)e(-?*t) Where lambda (?) is the decay constant or activity of the radioactive sample. It is also the reciprocal of the mean life which is the time an atom has before decay begins. NOTE: mean life is not the same as half-life, which is the time it takes for a radioactive sample to decay to 1/2 the mass of the starting sample.

2) Using the graph, determine the time it takes for the sample to decay to 1/2 of the original mass. This is the half-life of the sample.

3) Determine how many atoms are present at 4000, 6000, 8000 and 10000 years using the graph and the equation. Assume you started with 10,000 atoms of this element.

4) What do you think this isotope is? Use Appendix B in the textbook to determine what isotope this is.

5) What are some applications this isotope can be used for?

6) Would this isotope be useful in dating the age of dinosaur fossils? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

1)     No/2   = No* e(-t/8260)

     =>     ln2 = t/8260

=>      t =   5725 years                      ---------------------> half life of sample

2) By looking at the graph , half life of sample comes out to be 5730 years .

3)    For 4000 atoms

     N(t) = 10000 * e-0.484

    => N( t ) = 6161.5 atoms

     By using graph = 6200 atoms

For 6000 atoms

     N(t) = 10000 * e-0.7263

    => N( t ) = 4836 atoms

     By using graph = 4800 atoms

For 8000 atoms

     N(t) = 10000 * e-0.968

    => N( t ) = 3796.4 atoms

     By using graph = 3600 atoms

For 10000 atoms

     N(t) = 10000 * e-1.21

    => N( t ) = 2982 atoms

     By using graph = 2900 atoms

4)   By using perodic table , isotope is   14C     which is carbon-14 isotope .

5)    identify a person's year of birth or year of death using precise measurements of carbon-14 levels in different post-mortem tissues

To determine year of death, the researchers used radiocarbon levels in soft tissues.

Carbon Nanotube Absorption Measured In Worms, Cancer Cells

6)   Yes, this isotope be useful in dating the age of dinosaur fossils .

The researchers found that certain soft tissues blood, nails and hair — had radiocarbon levels identical to the contemporary atmosphere. Therefore, the radiocarbon level in those tissues post-mortem would indicate the year of death .

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