Question

You are given 230 grams of a substance with a half-life of 0.75 years. How much will remain after 3 years?

Answer 1

There is `1/16` of the original amount, 14.375 g.

Explanation:

Each time a period of time goes by that is equal to the half-life, there will be only 1/2 of the previous amount of material remaining.

In this case, three years represents `3-: 0.75 = 4` half-lives.

So, the amount that remains has been halved four times:

`1/2 xx 1/2xx1/2xx1/2 = (1/2)^4 = 1/16`

There is `1/16` of the original amount, which is

`230 xx 1/16 = 14.375` g