Determine the age of a rock containing 0.065 g of uranium-238(t1/2=4.5×10-9yr) and 0.23 g of lead-206 . (Assume all the lead-206 came from U-238 decay.)

Short Answer

Expert verified

The age of the rock is 2.2271x109years.

Step by step solution

01

Definition of Half-life

The half-life of a chemical reaction is the time it takes for a particular reactant's concentration to reach of its initial concentration (i.e., the time taken for the reactant concentration to reach half of its initial value).It is commonly represented in seconds and is denoted by the sign ' t1/2'.

02

The amount of U-238

In this problem, we need to determine the amount of 238U first.

Mass=0.023g206Pb1mol206Pb206g206Pb1mol238U1mol206Pb238g238U1mol238UMass=0.0266g238U

Original Amount of 238U :

(0.065g+0.0266g)238U=0.0916g238U

We need to identify the constant (k) using the formula for half-life.

t12=ln2kk=ln2t12k=ln2t12=ln24.5x109yr=1.540327x10-10yr

03

Calculation for the determination of the age of lead.

Using the expression for finding the number of nuclei remaining, we can solve for the value of t.

lnN0Nt=kt

ln0.0916g0.065g=1.540327×10-10×tyr

t=2.2271x109years

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free