Multiple Choice
A 2.00 mg sample of the radioisotope phosphorus-32 is found to contain 0.400 mg of phosphorus-32 after 33.3 days. Calculate the half-life (in days).
21. Nuclear Chemistry
Radioactive Half-Life
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The accompanying graph illustrates the decay of ^{88}_{42}Mo, which decays via positron emission. What is the half-life of the decay?
A
8 hours
B
4 hours
C
10 hours
D
6 hours
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand that the decay of ^{88}_{42}Mo via positron emission involves the transformation of a proton into a neutron, releasing a positron and a neutrino.
Identify that the half-life of a radioactive isotope is the time required for half of the radioactive nuclei in a sample to decay.
Examine the graph provided, which should show the decay of ^{88}_{42}Mo over time. Look for the point where the quantity of the isotope is reduced to half of its initial amount.
Determine the time interval on the graph from the start to the point where the isotope's quantity is halved. This interval represents the half-life.
Compare the determined half-life from the graph with the given options (8 hours, 4 hours, 10 hours) to identify the correct answer, which is 6 hours.
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