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How many days does it take for 16 grams of palladium-103 to decay to 1.0 gram? The half-life of palladium-103 is 17 days.

Answer :

Final answer:

Palladium-103 with a half-life of 17 days will take 4 half-lives, or 4 times 17 days, to decay from 16 grams to 1.0 gram.


Explanation:

Palladium-103 has a half-life of 17 days. The half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive substance to decay. So every 17 days, the amount of palladium-103 will be reduced by half.



In this case, you have 16 grams of palladium-103 initially. After 17 days, half of it will decay, leaving you with 8 grams. After another 17 days, half of the remaining 8 grams will decay, leaving you with 4 grams. This process will continue until you are left with 1.0 gram.



Since the half-life is 17 days and you start with 16 grams, you can divide 16 by 2 repeatedly until you reach 1.0. This will take a total of 4 half-lives, or 4 times 17 days.


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