Author Archives: fbona14

Elementary Differential Equations by Dela Fuente, Feliciano and Uy Physical Application 2: Exponential Growth and Decay

A certain radioactive material follows the law of exponential change and has a half life of 38 hours. Find how long it takes for 90% of the radioactivity to be dissipated.

Solution:

Use the formula:

S=Ce−ktS=Ce^{-kt}

First, find the constant of proportionality. In the problem, after 38 hours, half of the radioactivity has been dissipated and a half has been retained. So we can assume that S = 0.5So when t = 38 hrs and C = So.

(0.5)So=(So)e−k(38)\left(0.5\right)So=\left(So\right)e^{-k\left(38\right)}

And then solve for k:

k=−0.018241k=-0.018241

And then substitute k to the formula:

S=Ce−0.018241(t)S=Ce^{-0.018241\left(t\right)}

Now we can solve for the time(t). According to the problem, 90% of the radioactivity is dissipated, so 10% is retained. So we can assume that S = 0.1So and change C = So.

(0.1)So=(So)e−0.018241(t)\left(0.1\right)So=\left(So\right)e^{-0.018241\left(t\right)}

And then solve for time(t):

t = 126.23 hrst\:=\:126.23\:hrs
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