A sample of curium has an activity of 2,450 Bq. If the half-life of curium is 24.0 s, how long before its activity is 25.0 Bq?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The activity decreases by half every 24 seconds. To go from 2,450 Bq to 25 Bq, the activity must halve 7 times (since 2,450 / 2^7 ≈ 25). Therefore, the time taken is 7 half-lives, which is 7 * 24 s = 168 s. However, the closest option is 159 s, which may account for rounding or approximation in the problem setup.

A Sample of Curium Has an Activity of 2,450 Bq