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A rock brought back from the moon contained 1/8 of the radioactive substance that was present when the rock was formed. If the half-life of this substance is 1.5 billion years, how old in the moon rock?

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User Digidigo
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2 Answers

2 votes

Answer: We can use the formula for radioactive decay:

N = N0 * (1/2)^(t/T)

where N is the current amount of the radioactive substance, N0 is the original amount, t is the time that has passed, T is the half-life.

Let's assume that the original amount of the substance in the rock was 8 units. If the current amount is 1 unit, then:

1 = 8 * (1/2)^(t/1.5 billion)

Taking the natural logarithm of both sides, we get:

ln(1) = ln(8) - (t/1.5 billion)*ln(2)

Simplifying:

0 = ln(8) - (t/1.5 billion)*ln(2)

t/1.5 billion = ln(8)/ln(2)

t = 1.5 billion * (ln(8)/ln(2))

t ≈ 3.91 billion years

Therefore, the moon rock is about 3.91 billion years old.

Explanation:

answered
User Izaban
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7.5k points
5 votes

Answer:

4.5 billion years

Explanation:

answered
User Ungureanu Liviu
by
7.2k points

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