A 30kg sample of plutonium 239 will decay by 1180 years. What is the half life of plutonium 239?

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Answer 1 · 2018-03-07T18:31:42

According to the this reference for Plutonium 239 , its Half-life is:

#t_(1/2)= 24110" yrs"#

One form of exponential decay is:

#A(t) = A(0)(1/2)^(t/t_(1/2))#

The amount remaining of a #30" kg"# sample after #1180" yrs"# is:

#A(1180" yrs") = (30" kg")(1/2)^((1180" yrs")/(24110" yrs"))#

#A(1180" yrs") ~~ 28.9993" kg"#