Promethium-147 is sometimes used in luminescent paint. It has a half-life of 956.3 days. If 250 grams (g) of promethium-147 is used to make paint, what percentage of the isotope is still present in the paint after one year?

% = 76.75%

Explanation:

To solve this problem, we just need to use the expressions of half life and it's relation with the concentration or mass of a compound. That expression is the following:

A = A₀ e^(-kt)   (1)

Where:

A and A₀: concentrations or mass of the compounds, (final and initial)

k: constant decay of the compound

t: given time

Now to get the value of k, we should use the following expression:

k = ln2 / t₁/₂   (2)

You should note that this expression is valid when the reaction is of order 1 or first order. In this kind of exercises, we can assume it's a first order because we are not using the isotope for a reaction.

Now, let's calculate k:

k = ln2 / 956.3

k = 7.25x10⁻⁴ d⁻¹

With this value, we just replace it in (1) to get the final mass of the isotope. The given time is 1 year or 365 days so:

A = 250 e^(-7.25x10⁻⁴ * 365)

A = 250 e^(-0.7675)

A = 191.87 g

However, the question is the percentage left after 1 year so:

% = (191.87 / 250) * 100

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