The age of wine can be determined by measuring the trace amount of radioactive tritium, 3H, present in a sample. Tritium is formed from hydrogen in water vapor in the upper atmosphere by cosmic bombardment, so all naturally ocurring water contains a small amount of this isotope. Once the water is in a bottle of wine, however, the formation of additional tritium from the water is negligible, so the tritium initially present gradually diminishes by a first-order radioactive decay with a half-life of 12.5 years. If a bottle of wine is found to have a tritium concentration that is 0.184 that of freshly bottled wine (i.e. [3H]t = 0.184 [3H]0), what is the age of the wine?
The age of wine can be determined by measuring the trace amount of radioactive tritium, 3H, present in a sample. Tritium is formed from hydrogen in water vapor in the upper atmosphere by cosmic bombardment, so all naturally ocurring water contains a small amount of this isotope. Once the water is in a bottle of wine, however, the formation of additional tritium from the water is negligible, so the tritium initially present gradually diminishes by a first-order radioactive decay with a half-life of 12.5 years. If a bottle of wine is found to have a tritium concentration that is 0.184 that of freshly bottled wine (i.e. [3H]t = 0.184 [3H]0), what is the age of the wine?
Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity
9th Edition
ISBN:9781133949640
Author:John C. Kotz, Paul M. Treichel, John Townsend, David Treichel
Publisher:John C. Kotz, Paul M. Treichel, John Townsend, David Treichel
Chapter14: Chemical Kinetics: The Rates Of Chemical Reactions
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 90SCQ: Chlorine atoms contribute to the destruction of the Earths ozone layer by the following sequence of...
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The age of wine can be determined by measuring the trace amount of radioactive tritium, 3H, present in a sample. Tritium is formed from hydrogen in water vapor in the upper atmosphere by cosmic bombardment, so all naturally ocurring water contains a small amount of this isotope. Once the water is in a bottle of wine, however, the formation of additional tritium from the water is negligible, so the tritium initially present gradually diminishes by a first-order radioactive decay with a half-life of 12.5 years. If a bottle of wine is found to have a tritium concentration that is 0.184 that of freshly bottled wine (i.e. [3H]t = 0.184 [3H]0), what is the age of the wine?
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