Solving Exponential Equations Quick Check

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Question
Consider the following scenario: A sample of radioactive material has a decay constant of 0.02 per day. If there are initially 20 grams of the material, what formula would you use to determine how much will remain after 10 days?(1 point)
Responses

y=20(0.98)10
y equals 20 left parenthesis 0.98 right parenthesis superscript 10 baseline

y=20(0.02)10
y equals 20 left parenthesis 0.02 right parenthesis superscript 10 baseline

y=10(0.98)20
y equals 10 left parenthesis 0.98 right parenthesis superscript 20 baseline

y=10(0.02)20

1 answer

To determine how much of a radioactive material remains after a certain period, you can use the formula:

\[ y = y_0 \cdot e^{(-kt)} \]

Where:

  • \( y_0 \) is the initial amount of material
  • \( k \) is the decay constant
  • \( t \) is the time in days
  • \( y \) is the remaining amount after time \( t \)

In this case, you have:

  • Initial amount (\( y_0 \)) = 20 grams
  • Decay constant (\( k \)) = 0.02 per day
  • Time (\( t \)) = 10 days

However, since the answer choices provided do not use the natural exponential function \( e \) and instead focus on a simplified version of the decay scenario, we can rearrange the formula for easier calculations without \( e \):

\[ y = y_0 \cdot (1 - k)^t \]

Since \( k = 0.02 \), we note that \( 1 - k = 0.98 \).

Thus, the formula you should use to determine how much will remain after 10 days is:

\[ y = 20(0.98)^{10} \]

Therefore, the correct response is:

y = 20(0.98)¹⁰