Thread: Nuclear Chemistry problem

Hi everyone!

I have a nuclear chemistry problem that is driving me mad. It is supposed to have a simple answer. However, I have not been able to find it.

-Considering that the activity of a 3 mg of a compound of 147Pm (half-life=2,65 years) is 10^7 desintegrations per second. What is the percentage of 147Pm in the compound?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Well, I don't know if there is a simple answer to this question. If there is a way to do it by inspection, I just don't see it. You'll have to grind it out using the well-known formulas for dealing with radioactive decay.

You'll find a review of the necessary formulas at this site, bottom of the page:

http://www.answers.com/topic/radioac...cat=technology

Don't forget to convert your units for consistency; that is, years and seconds. You'll also have to invoke Avogadro's number to relate number of particles with grams.

Try it yourself, let us know how far you get.

Â*

Thanks! I'll try.