Barium-122 has a half-life of 2 minutes. If 10.0 g of Ba-122 are produced in a nuclear reactor how much Ba-122 will remain 10 minutes after production ceases?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The half-life of Ba-122 is 2 minutes, which means that after 2 minutes, half of the original amount will remain. After another 2 minutes, half of the remaining amount will remain, and so on. After 10 minutes, there will be 1/2^5 = 1/32 of the original amount remaining. Therefore, 10.0 g of Ba-122 will be reduced to 10.0 g / 32 = 0.313 g after 10 minutes.

Barium-122 Has a Half-Life of 2 Minutes