Guys.. I need help in
question 39 may/june 2007 paper 1
Please help meeeeee
The half-life is 5 hours. That means it takes 5 hours for half the sample to decay.
They are asking about 20 hours before.
After the 20 hours, it was 0.48 g.
How much was it 5 hours before? It would be double, as 5 hours is the half life.
So, 0.48 X 2= 0.96.
0.96 was 5 hours before.
What about ten hours before the initial?
That would be double of the 5 hours before one. i.e 0.96 X 2 = 1.92.
So, 10 hours ago, it was 1.92.
What about 15 hours before? That would be 5 more behind the 10 hours one.
So, 1.92 X 2 = 3.84
And thus for 20, 3.84 X 2 = 7.68
See, in every 5 hours, it doubles.
You can't just multiply 0.48 by 4.
It DOUBLES every 5 HOURS.
So, you have to double it, in each step, when going backwards.