Tritium an isotope of hydrogen with one proton and two neutrons in its nucleus has a half-life of 12.3 years If 67.2 mg of tritium escapes from a nuclear power plant in the course of an accident what?

Answer 1

An isotope is an atom that has a different number of neutrons. Since the identity of the atom is based on the number of protons, the number of neutrons does not change the atom's identity, but it does change its nuclear structure and stability.

Normal hydrogen is hydrogen-1, also called protium, with one proton and no neutrons. Isotopes of hydrogen can range from hydrogen-1 to hydrogen-7, the latter having one proton and six neutrons. Of these seven isotopes, only three are sufficiently stable to readily observe.

Hydrogen-1, protium, again, is the most common form, accounting for 99.985% of the hydrogen found in nature. It is stable. Hydrogen-2, also called deuterium, having one proton and one neutron, accounts for 0.015% of the hydrogen found in nature. It is also stable. Hydrogen-3, also called tritium, has one proton and two neutrons. It is unstable, and not normally found in nature except for trace amounts formed from the interaction of cosmic rays and the atmosphere. It is also formed in various nuclear reactions inside of reactors.

The half-life of tritium is 12.32 years, decaying by Beta- decay.

Half-life is the amount of time for a particular radioactive isotope to decay into one half of its original mass. It is a logarithmic process, meaning that, at the end of successive half-lives, there are 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc. of the original mass remaining. The equation for half-life is ...

AT = A0 2(-T/H)

... where A0 is the starting mass, AT is the ending mass after some time T, and H is the half-life in units of T. Each isotope has its own half-life, and measurement of the half-life can aid in the identification of the isotope.

Beta- decay is a process where a neutron is converted to a proton by the emission of a W- boson, which then decays into an electron and an electron antineutrino. Since, in the case of tritium, we are changing one neutron into a proton, the tritium becomes helium (two protons, two neutrons) in this process.

Answer 2

A quarter!

After 12.32 years the remainder is one half

After another 12.32 years (so 24.64 in total) the remainder is

one half of the former half, thus 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/4

Formula:

mto = mt * 2 {t / t(1/2)}mt = mass on time t (in this calcul 24.6 year)

mto=mass on time 0 (begin)

t(1/2)= half-life time = 12.32 yr

fill in:

mto = mt * 2 {24.6/12.32} = mt * 22 = 4 * mt

thus mt/mto = 1/4

Answer 3

1.56