The half-life of radon-222 is 3.825 days. Use Exercise 31 to compute: (a) The average time to
Question:
The half-life of radon-222 is 3.825 days. Use Exercise 31 to compute:
(a) The average time to decay of a radon-222 atom.
(b) The probability that a given atom will decay in the next 24 hours.
Data From Exercise 31
The time to decay of an atom in a radioactive substance is a random variable X. The law of radioactive decay states that if N atoms are present at time t = 0, then N ƒ(t) atoms will be present at time t, where ƒ(t) = e−kt (k > 0 is the decay constant). Explain the following statements:
The fraction of atoms that decay in a small time interval [t, t + Δt] is approximately −ƒ'(t)Δt.
The probability density function of X is y = −ƒ'(t).
The average time to decay is 1/k.
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