Fermium-253 has a half-life of 3.00 d. A sample of fermium contains 7.37 × 10⁷nuclei. How long will it take for there to be only 3.36 × 10⁶ fermium nuclei in this sample?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

We can use the radioactive decay formula: N = N0 * (1/2)^(t/T), where N is the final number of nuclei, N0 is the initial number of nuclei, t is the time elapsed, and T is the half-life. 
Rearranging the formula, we get:
t = (log(N/N0)) * T / log(1/2)
Substituting the given values, we get:
t = (log(3.36x10^16/7.37x10^17)) * 3.00 d / log(1/2) = 13.4 d
Therefore, the answer is choice C.

Fermium-253 Has a Half-Life of 3