Question 7

The half-life for a 100-gram sample of radioactive element X is 5 days. How much of element X remains after 10 days have passed?

a
100 g
b
75 g
c
25 g
d
50 g

1 answer

To determine how much of the radioactive element X remains after 10 days, we can use the concept of half-lives.

The half-life of element X is 5 days, which means that every 5 days, half of the remaining amount of the substance decays.

After 5 days (one half-life):

  • Initial amount: 100 g
  • Remaining amount: \( 100 , \text{g} \div 2 = 50 , \text{g} \)

After another 5 days (a total of 10 days or two half-lives):

  • Remaining amount: \( 50 , \text{g} \div 2 = 25 , \text{g} \)

Therefore, the amount of element X that remains after 10 days is 25 g.

The answer is c) 25 g.