A radioisotope has a half-life of 7.5 hours. How many half lives have occured after 67.5 hours?

a
7 half-lives
b
8 half-lives
c
9 half-lives
d
10 half-lives

1 answer

To determine how many half-lives have occurred after 67.5 hours, you can divide the total time elapsed by the half-life of the radioisotope.

Given:

  • Half-life = 7.5 hours
  • Total time = 67.5 hours

Number of half-lives = Total time / Half-life

\[ \text{Number of half-lives} = \frac{67.5 \text{ hours}}{7.5 \text{ hours}} = 9 \]

Therefore, the answer is:

c. 9 half-lives