Question

A pure sample of tritium, 3H, was prepared and sealed in a container for a number of years. Tritium undergoes â decay with a half-life of 12.32 years. How long has the container been sealed if analysis of the contents shows there are 5.25 mol of 3H and 6.35 mol of 3He present?

another problem. help please. thanks :)

Answer 1

34

Answer 2

14.1

Answer 3

The age of wine can be determined by measuring the trace amount of radioactive tritium, 3H, present in a sample. Tritium is formed from hydrogen in water vapor in the upper atmosphere by cosmic bombardment, so all naturally ocurring water contains a small amount of this isotope. Once the water is in a bottle of wine, however, the formation of additional tritium from the water is negligible, so the tritium initially present gradually diminishes by a first-order radioactive decay with a half-life of 12.5 years. If a bottle of wine is found to have a tritium concentration that is 0.116 that of freshly bottled wine (i.e. [3H]t = 0.116 [3H]0), what is the age of the wine?