SOLUTION: help me please
The half-life of a certain radioactive material is 66 days. An initial amount of the material has a mass of 474 kg. Write an exponential function that models the
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Question 469358: help me please
The half-life of a certain radioactive material is 66 days. An initial amount of the material has a mass of 474 kg. Write an exponential function that models the decay of this material. Find how much radioactive material remains after 9 days. Round your answer to the nearest thousandth.
Answer by ccs2011(207) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
General exponential function:
where P is initial value, t is time, k is constant
For this problem we know P and t
P = 474
t = 9
However, k is unknown, but they tell us that when t=66, P(t) = P/2
Half-life just means you have half what you started with
Using this we can solve for k:
Divide by 474 on both sides
Take natural log of both sides: ln(e^a) = a
Divide by 66 on both sides
Use scientific calculator to approximate
Now substitute this in for k in general equation to solve for P(9)
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