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Radioactive Decay Question

 
Old 02-19-2011 at 01:15 PM   #1
ginaj
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Radioactive Decay Question
How would I calculate the age of a rock only given the amount of each in grams and half-life?

40K decays to 40Ar.
Half life of 40K is 1.25 billion years.
40K = 20 grams
40Ar= 5 grams

I think the formula is
Final Amount of 40K = Initial Amount of 40K * (1/2)^(time/half-life)

If I plug in the values I still don't have a value for time. And where would the grams of 40Ar fit in?
Old 02-19-2011 at 01:24 PM   #2
justinsftw
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40K:40Ar is a ratio of 4:1 by mass, so final/initial would be 5/20.

.25 = (.5)^(t/1.25*10^9)
Solve for t. Time would be in the unit of years.

ginaj says thanks to justinsftw for this post.
Old 02-19-2011 at 01:48 PM   #3
ginaj
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Thank you so much!



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