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Compute the age of a basalt rock sample from the Moon containing 6 grams of Uranium-235 (parent isotope) and 42 grams of Lead-207 (daughter isotope). This rock is from a complex crater flooded with lava. The half-life of Uranium-235 is 704 million years.

Sagot :

Answer:

Age of rock = 21112000000 years

Explanation:

The half-life of a radioactive material is the time taken for half the original material to decay or it is the time required for a quantity to reduce to half of its initial value.

The ratio of parent isotope, Uranium-235 to daughter isotope, Lead-207 = 6 : 42 = 1 : 7

This means that for every one gram of the parent isotope, there are 7 grams of the daughter isotope. So,the quantity of radioactive material left is one out of eight its original value.

Number of half-lives undergone for 1/8 of the original value to to remain is given below:

1/8 = 1/2 × 1/2 × 1/2

Therefore, number of half-lives = 3 half-lives

Age of rock = half-life of Uranium -235 × number of half-lives

The half-life of Uranium-235 is 704 million years = 704000000

Age of rock = 704000000 × 3

Age of rock = 21112000000 years