Question

Suppose a laboratory has a 31 g sample of polonium-210. The half-life of polonium-210 is about 138 days. How many half-lives of polonium-210 occur in 966 days? How much polonium is in the sample 966 days later?

Answer 1

966/138 = ?

After each half life, you have 1/2 as much as when you started the half life. You can write this as \[\frac{1}{2^n}\] and multiply by the starting amount.

Answer 2

\(n\) being the number of half lives that have gone by...