College

Element X decays radioactively with a half-life of 11 minutes. If there are 300 grams of Element X, how long, to the nearest tenth of a minute, would it take the element to decay to 80 grams?

[tex]y = a(0.5)^{\frac{t}{h}}[/tex]

Submit your answer in minutes: [tex]\square[/tex]

Answer :

To solve this problem, we need to determine how long it takes for 300 grams of Element X to decay to 80 grams, given that its half-life is 11 minutes. We can use the formula for exponential decay, which is:

[tex]\[ y = a \times (0.5)^{\frac{t}{h}} \][/tex]

Where:
- [tex]\( y \)[/tex] is the remaining amount of the substance.
- [tex]\( a \)[/tex] is the initial amount of the substance.
- [tex]\( t \)[/tex] is the time that has passed.
- [tex]\( h \)[/tex] is the half-life of the substance.

In this case:
- The initial amount [tex]\( a = 300 \)[/tex] grams
- The remaining amount [tex]\( y = 80 \)[/tex] grams
- The half-life [tex]\( h = 11 \)[/tex] minutes

We need to find [tex]\( t \)[/tex], which is the time it takes for the substance to decay from 300 grams to 80 grams.

Here are the steps to find [tex]\( t \)[/tex]:

1. Set up the equation using the decay formula:

[tex]\[ 80 = 300 \times (0.5)^{\frac{t}{11}} \][/tex]

2. Divide both sides by 300 to isolate the decay term:

[tex]\[ \frac{80}{300} = (0.5)^{\frac{t}{11}} \][/tex]

3. Simplify [tex]\(\frac{80}{300}\)[/tex]:

[tex]\[ \frac{4}{15} \approx 0.2667 \][/tex]

4. To solve for [tex]\( t \)[/tex], take the logarithm of both sides. We can use the base 10 logarithm (common log) or natural logarithm (ln), but we'll use the natural logarithm in this case:

[tex]\[ \ln(0.2667) = \ln((0.5)^{\frac{t}{11}}) \][/tex]

5. Using the logarithmic identity [tex]\(\ln(a^b) = b \times \ln(a)\)[/tex], rewrite the equation:

[tex]\[ \ln(0.2667) = \frac{t}{11} \times \ln(0.5) \][/tex]

6. Solve for [tex]\( t \)[/tex]:

[tex]\[ t = 11 \times \frac{\ln(0.2667)}{\ln(0.5)} \][/tex]

7. After calculating the above expression, you'll find that [tex]\( t \approx 21.0 \)[/tex].

Therefore, it will take approximately 21.0 minutes for Element X to decay from 300 grams to 80 grams.