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23–27, assume that the rate of decay of a radioactive
Chapter 3, Problem 27E(choose chapter or problem)
23–27, assume that the rate of decay of a radioactive substance is proportional to the amount of the substance present. The half-life of a radioactive substance is the time it takes for one-half of the substance to disintegrate.The only undiscovered isotopes of the two unknown elements hohum and inertium (symbols Hh and It) are radioactive. Hohum decays into inertium with a decay constant of 2/yr, and inertium decays into the nonradioactive isotope of bunkum (symbol Bu) with a decay constant of 1/yr. An initial mass of 1 kg of hohum is put into a nonradiaoctive container, with no other source of hohum, inertium, or bunkum. How much of each of the three elements is in the container after t yr? (The decay constant is the constant of proportionality in the statement that the rate of loss of mass of the element at any time is proportional to the mass of the element at that time.)
Questions & Answers
QUESTION:
23–27, assume that the rate of decay of a radioactive substance is proportional to the amount of the substance present. The half-life of a radioactive substance is the time it takes for one-half of the substance to disintegrate.The only undiscovered isotopes of the two unknown elements hohum and inertium (symbols Hh and It) are radioactive. Hohum decays into inertium with a decay constant of 2/yr, and inertium decays into the nonradioactive isotope of bunkum (symbol Bu) with a decay constant of 1/yr. An initial mass of 1 kg of hohum is put into a nonradiaoctive container, with no other source of hohum, inertium, or bunkum. How much of each of the three elements is in the container after t yr? (The decay constant is the constant of proportionality in the statement that the rate of loss of mass of the element at any time is proportional to the mass of the element at that time.)
ANSWER:SOLUTIONStep 1Take H = Hohum I = Intertium B = BunkumHohum decays into inertium with a decay constant of 2/yearInertium decays into bunkum with a decay constant of 1/year.We write, Therefore …….(1)…….(2)…….( 3)We have to find B and I as a function of time ‘t’.