Question

you will need the information in the table below to answer some of the questions.
rocks and natural minerals, including those found from outside of earth (e.g. asteroids and meteors) contain a specific set of elements, some of those have unstable atomic nuclei called
isotopes.
what fraction of the substance would be left after 5 half - lives?
if half of a radioactive isotope decays in one hour, how much of the original isotope will remain after three hours?

Explanation:

Step1: Formula for radioactive decay

The formula for the fraction of a radioactive substance remaining after \(n\) half - lives is \(N = N_0\times(\frac{1}{2})^n\), where \(N_0\) is the initial amount and \(n\) is the number of half - lives.

Step2: Substitute \(n = 5\) into the formula

When \(n = 5\), we have \(N=\frac{1}{2^5}\). Since \(2^5=32\), then \(N = \frac{1}{32}\).

Answer:

\(\frac{1}{32}\)