Question
Question: A first order reaction takes \[69.3\]minutes for \(50\% \) completion. How much time will be needed ...
A first order reaction takes 69.3minutes for 50% completion. How much time will be needed for 80% completion?
Solution
Half-life, in radioactivity, the interval of time required for one half of the atomic nuclei of a radioactive sample to decay (change spontaneously into other nuclear species by emitting particles and energy), or, equivalently, the time interval required for the number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive material to decrease by one half.
Complete answer:
The half-life of a reaction is the time required for a reactant to reach one half its initial concentration or pressure. For a first-order reaction, the half-life is independent of concentration and constant over time.
The half-life of a reaction is the time required for the reactant concentration to decrease to one half its initial value. The half-life of a first-order reaction is a constant that is related to the rate constant for the reaction:t21=K0.693. Radioactive decay reactions are first-order reactions.
K=69.3ln2min−1
t21=69.3min=kln
For 80% conversion, if we assume initial concentration to be a∘,concentration left would be 5a∘
t×69.3ln2=ln(5a∘a∘)
t=ln269.3ln5=161min−1
Note:
Half-lives are characteristic properties of the various unstable atomic nuclei and the particular way in which they decay. Alpha and beta decay are generally slower processes than gamma decay. Half-lives for beta decay range upward from one-hundredth of a second and, for alpha decay, upward from about one one-millionth of a second. Half-lives for gamma decay may be too short to measure (around 10−14second), though a wide range of half-lives for gamma emission has been reported.