SOLUTIONNuclear Physics: Accident in Lab, Wait Time to Enter Room

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a nuclear physics problem involving the decay of a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 3 days, following an accident in a lab that resulted in radiation levels exceeding permissible limits.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the concept of half-life and its implications for determining wait time based on the initial radiation level being 8 times the maximum permissible amount. Questions arise about the calculations involved and the reasoning behind the proposed solution.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants questioning each other's understanding of half-life and its application to the problem. Some guidance has been offered regarding the decay process, but there is no explicit consensus on the solution yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the calculations and the interpretation of the problem, indicating a need for clarification on the relationship between half-life and radiation levels over time.

petuniac
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QUESTION

in an accident in a lab a radioactive isotope with a half life of 3 days is spilled - as a result the radiation is 8 times the max. permissible amount, how long must workers wait before they can enter the room.

ANSWER

9

COMMENTS

I am not sure where to even start with this one. Please help!
 
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Do you know what half life means?
 
half life is the amount of time it takes for the quantity to reduce to half it's initial value.. in this question it takes 3 days for us to get half of the material
 
So this should be fairly straight forward. If you have 8x the amount and it takes 3 days for half to decay away, how long should it take
 
huh?

maybe i am missing something here.. but that wouldn't give me 9 as a solution... sorry, I appreciate your help, but am lost on this one... please help
 
If the radiation is 8x the maximum, 3 days later (which is 1 half life) the radiation would be 4x maximum. Can ou go from there?
 
Thanks. Got it now!
 

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