The isotope caesium-137, which has a half life of 30 years, is a product of neuclear power plants. How long will it take for the amount of this isotope in a sample of caesium to decay to one sixteenth of its original amount. Explain answer
30 years 1/2
60 years 1/4
90 years 1/8
120 years 1/16????
IS this right
looks right to me.
Yes, you are correct! The half-life of caesium-137 is 30 years, which means that every 30 years, the amount of caesium-137 in a sample will decrease by half.
To find out how long it will take for the amount of caesium-137 to decay to one sixteenth of its original amount, we need to determine how many half-lives it will take to get to that point.
Since each half-life reduces the amount of caesium-137 by half, it will take 4 half-lives to reduce it to one sixteenth of its original amount (1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/16).
Therefore, the time it will take for the amount of caesium-137 to decay to one sixteenth of its original amount is equal to 4 times the half-life of caesium-137.
4 * 30 years = 120 years.
So, it will take approximately 120 years for the amount of caesium-137 in a sample to decay to one sixteenth of its original amount.