Rankers Physics

Nucleus: Practice Problem & Solution

A radioactive sample with a half life of 1 month has the label: 'Activity = 2 micro curies on $1-8-1991$'. What would be its activity two months earlier? (1988)
1.0 micro curie
0.5 micro curie
4 micro curie
8 micro curie

Solution Explained:

To solve this problem, we apply the core principles of Nucleus. Understanding the underlying formula is key to arriving at the correct answer below:

Going backward in time by two months corresponds to adding 2 half-lives to the activity. The activity was $2 \times 2^2 = 2 \times 4 = 8$ micro curies.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *