What costs $60 million per gram and can beused to treat brain cancer, analyze coal for its sulfur content, and detect explosives in luggage? The answer is californium-252, a radioactive isotope so rare that only 8 g of it have been made in the Westernworld since its discovery by Glenn Seaborg in 1950. The half-life ofthe isotope is 2.645 years—long enough for a useful service life andshort enough to have a high radioactivity per unit mass. One microgram of the isotope releases 170 million neutrons per minute.a. What is the value of k in the decay equation for this isotope?b. What is the isotope’s mean life?c. How long will it take 95% of a sample’s radioactive nuclei todisintegrate?

College Algebra
7th Edition
ISBN:9781305115545
Author:James Stewart, Lothar Redlin, Saleem Watson
Publisher:James Stewart, Lothar Redlin, Saleem Watson
Chapter4: Exponential And Logarithmic Functions
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 13CC
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What costs $60 million per gram and can be
used to treat brain cancer, analyze coal for its sulfur content, and detect explosives in luggage? The answer is californium-252, a radioactive isotope so rare that only 8 g of it have been made in the Western
world since its discovery by Glenn Seaborg in 1950. The half-life of
the isotope is 2.645 years—long enough for a useful service life and
short enough to have a high radioactivity per unit mass. One microgram of the isotope releases 170 million neutrons per minute.
a. What is the value of k in the decay equation for this isotope?
b. What is the isotope’s mean life?
c. How long will it take 95% of a sample’s radioactive nuclei to
disintegrate?

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