Question #72f8f

1 Answer
Jun 21, 2016

One sixteenth part.

Explanation:

Half life means that half of the number of atoms you start with has decayed (i.e. emitted radiation):

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Iodine 131 has a half life of 8 days, so 32 days is four half lifes:

  • 1 half life = 1/2 left
  • 2 half lifes = 1/4 left
  • 3 half lifes = 1/8 left
  • 4 half lifes = 1/16 left

For more complex calculations you can use the equation:

N(t)=N(0)0.5tT

In which N(0) is the number of atoms you start with, and N(t) the number of atoms left after a certain time t for a nuclide with a half life of T.