Uranium-235 can be separated from U-238 by fluorinating the uranium to form UF6 (which is a gas) and then taking advantage of the different rates of effusion and diffusion for compounds containing the two isotopes.

Question

Calculate the ratio of effusion rates for 238UF6 and 235UF6 The atomic mass of U-235 is 235.054amu and that of U-238 is 238.051amu.

What steps do I take to answer this question?

Answer 1

rates of effusion are inversely proportional to the sqrt of atomic masses.

Rate235/rate238= sqrt (238.05/235.054)

Answer 2

1.0056

Answer 3

But isnt the equation for rate of diffusion sqrt(MB/MA) so it would be sqrt(238/235)