Naturally occurring uranium is composed mostly of 238U and 235U, with relative abundances of 99.28% and 0.72%, respectively. The half-life for 238U is 4.5 * 109 years, and the halflife for 235U is 7.1 * 108 years. Assuming that the earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago, calculate the relative abundances of the 238U and 235U isotopes when the earth was formed.

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Chapter20: Nuclear Chemistry
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Naturally occurring uranium is composed mostly of 238U and 235U, with relative abundances of 99.28% and 0.72%, respectively. The half-life for 238U is 4.5 * 109 years, and the halflife for 235U is 7.1 * 108 years.

Assuming that the earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago, calculate the relative abundances of the 238U and 235U isotopes when the earth was formed.

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