Question
Question: The half-life of \( {C^{14}} \) is \( 5670 \) years. If \( 56g \) of \( {C^{14}} \) was present init...
The half-life of C14 is 5670 years. If 56g of C14 was present initially, how many atoms of C14 is left after 22680 years.
\left( A \right)1.5 \times {10^{23}} \\\
\left( B \right)2.9 \times {10^{27}} \\\
\left( C \right)1.5 \times {10^{27}} \\\
\left( D \right)2.9 \times {10^{23}} \\\
Solution
Hint : In order to solve this question, we are going to first determine the decay constant by the reciprocal of decay constant. Then, by using the law of radioactive decay, the number of disintegrated atoms present at a particular time is calculated while the number of atoms initially can be calculated from initially given.
The decay constant for the radioactive element is given by:
λ=t211
According to law of radioactive decay, the rate of disintegration is given by
A0A=e−λt
Complete Step By Step Answer:
Let us start solving the question by calculating the decay constant.
It is given that the half-life of C14 is 5670 years, i.e.,
t21=5670
The decay constant for the radioactive element C14 is given by:
λ=t211
Calculating this value of the decay constant by putting the value of half life
λ=56701
The rate of disintegration for C14 is given by
\dfrac{A}{{{A_0}}} = {e^{ - \lambda t}} \\\
\ln \left( {\dfrac{A}{{{A_0}}}} \right) = - \lambda t \\\
Now, the number of atoms of C14 present initially can be calculated as
{A_0} = \dfrac{{56}}{{14}} \times 6.022 \times {10^{23}} \\\
\Rightarrow {A_0} = 4 \times 6.022 \times {10^{23}} = 24.088 \times {10^{23}} \\\
Putting the value of A0 obtained above in the above equation, we get,
\ln \left( {\dfrac{A}{{{A_0}}}} \right) = - \dfrac{1}{{5670}} \times 22680 \\\
\Rightarrow \ln \left( {\dfrac{A}{{24.088 \times {{10}^{23}}}}} \right) = - 4 \\\
On further solving this equation, we get
A=1.5×1023atoms .
Note :
According to the law of radioactive decay, the quantity of a radio-element which disappears in unit time is directly proportional to the amount present. Rate of decay of nuclide is independent of temperature, so its activation energy is zero. The step where the initial number of atoms is calculated is important and that depends on the initial mass and the atomic number of C14 .