Question

The most common isotope of radon is $22^{2} \mathrm{Rn}$ , which has half-life 3.82 days. (a) What fraction of the nuclei that were on the Earth one week ago are now undecayed? (b) Of those that existed one year ago? (c) In view of these results, explain why radon remains a problem, contributing significantly to our background radiation exposure.

Name: The most common isotope of radon is 22^2Rn , which has half-life 3.82 days. (a) What fraction of the nuclei that were on the Earth one week ago are now undecayed? (b) Of those that existed one year ago? (c) In view of these results, explain why radon remains a problem, contributing significantly to our background radiation exposure.
Uploaded: 2021-12-13T07:36:24-08:00
Duration: 4 min 27 s
Channel: Prabhat Tyagi
Description: The most common isotope of radon is 22^2Rn , which has half-life 3.82 days. (a) What fraction of the nuclei that were on the Earth one week ago are now undecayed? (b) Of those that existed one year ago? (c) In view of these results, explain why radon remains a problem, contributing significantly to our background radiation exposure.

          The most common isotope of radon is $22^{2} \mathrm{Rn}$ , which has half-life 3.82 days. (a) What fraction of the nuclei that were on the Earth one week ago are now undecayed? (b) Of those that existed one year ago? (c) In view of these results, explain why radon remains a problem, contributing significantly to our background radiation exposure.

Added by Jon R.

University Physics with Modern Physics

Hugh D. Young 14th Edition

Instant Answer

Solved by Expert Prabhat Tyagi

12/13/2021

Step 1

Given: Half-life of $^{222}Rn$: 3.82 days Time elapsed: 1 week = 7 days Using the formula: $N(t) = N_0 \times e^{-\lambda t}$ Where: $N(t)$ = number of undecayed nuclei after time t $N_0$ = initial number of nuclei $\lambda$ = decay constant $t$ = time Show more…

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The most common isotope of radon is $22^{2} \mathrm{Rn}$ , which has half-life 3.82 days. (a) What fraction of the nuclei that were on the Earth one week ago are now undecayed? (b) Of those that existed one year ago? (c) In view of these results, explain why radon remains a problem, contributing significantly to our background radiation exposure.