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Radioactivity - Nuclei

Question

In the chemical analysis of a rock the mass ratio of two radioactive isotopes is found to be 100:1. The mean lives of the two isotopes are 4×109 yr and 2×109 yr, respectively. If it is assumed that at the time of formation the atoms of both the isotopes were in equal proportion, the age of the rock p×1010yr, where the value of p is ... Take, ratio of the atomic weights of the two isotopes is 1.02:1.)

Moderate
Solution

At the time of observation (t = t),

      m1m2=1001            (given)

Further, it is given that A1A2=1.021

Number of atoms N=mA

 N1N2=m1m2×A2A1=1001.02   …….(i)

Let N0 be the number of atoms of both the isotopes at the time of formation, then

             N1N2=N0eλ1tN0eλ2t=eλ2λ1t  ………(ii)

Equating Eqs. (i) and (i), we have

           eλ2λ1t=1001.02

 or  λ2λ1t=ln(100)ln(1.02) t=ln(100)ln(1.02)12×10914×109

Substituting the values, we have

               t=1.834×1010yr



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