A source for gamma rays has an activity of 3175 Ci. How many disintegrations are there for this source per minute?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: Approximately 7.0485 × 10^14 disintegrations/min.

Step by step solution

01

Write down the given activity in curies

The given activity of the gamma-ray source in curies is 3175 Ci.
02

Convert the activity from curies to disintegrations per second using the conversion factor

Using the conversion factor (1 Ci = 3.7 × 10^10 disintegrations per second), let's convert the activity to disintegrations per second: (3175 \, \text{Ci}) \times (3.7 \times 10^{10} \, \text{disintegrations/s})/(\text{Ci}) = 1.17475 \times 10^{13} \, \text{disintegrations/s}.
03

Convert the disintegrations per second to disintegrations per minute

Now, we'll convert from disintegrations per second to disintegrations per minute, knowing that there are 60 seconds in a minute: (1.17475 \times 10^{13} \, \text{disintegrations/s}) \times (60 \, \text{s})/(\text{min}) = 7.0485 \times 10^{14} \, \text{disintegrations/min}.
04

State the final answer

The number of disintegrations for this gamma-ray source per minute is approximately 7.0485 × 10^14 disintegrations/min.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

An activity of 20 picocuries \(\left(20 \times 10^{-12} \mathrm{Ci}\right)\) of radon- 222 per liter of air in a house constitutes a health hazard to anyone living there. The half-life of radon-222 is \(3.82\) days. Calculate the concentration of radon in air (moles per liter) that corresponds to a 20-picocurie activity level.

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