Indium-117 has a half-life of 43 minutes. If you start with 500 grams of indium-117, how much time will it take to have 31.25 grams of indium-117 left in the sample?

A. 172 minutes
B. 86 minutes
C. 215 minutes
D. 129 minutes

1 answer

The amount of indium-117 remaining in the sample can be modeled by the equation:

A(t) = A(0) * (1/2)^(t/h)

where A(t) is the amount remaining after time t, A(0) is the initial amount, t is the time elapsed, and h is the half-life.

Using this equation, we can plug in the values:

31.25 = 500 * (1/2)^(t/43)

Dividing both sides by 500:

0.0625 = (1/2)^(t/43)

Taking the logarithm of both sides:

log(0.0625) = log[(1/2)^(t/43)]

Using the logarithm property:

log(0.0625) = (t/43) * log(1/2)

Dividing both sides by log(1/2):

(t/43) = log(0.0625) / log(1/2)

Simplifying:

t = 43 * log(0.0625) / log(1/2)

Using a logarithm calculator, we find:

t ≈ 129.174

Therefore, it will take approximately 129 minutes to have 31.25 grams of indium-117 left in the sample.

The correct answer is D. 129 minutes.