Question

Suppose we consider a large number of containers each containing initially 10000 atoms of a radioactive material with a half life of 1 yr. After 1 year,
(a) all the containers will have 5000 atoms of the material
(b) all the contains will conatin the same number of atoms of the material but that number will only be approximately 5000
(c) the containers will in general have different numbers of the atoms of the material but their average will be close to 5000
(d) none of the containers can have more than 5000 atoms.

Answer 1

C is the correct answer

Answer 2

Answer:

(C) the containers will in general have different numbers of the atoms of the material but their average will be close to 5000

Explanation:

The Key concept involved in the question is - Half life ( T1/2)

Radioactivity is a spontaneous process of the decay of an radioactive material. The time interval in which the number of the atoms of a radioactive substance or its mass reduces to half of its initial value is called the half life of the substance.

Thus, In half-life where t= 1 year of the material, thus on an average half of the number of atoms will decay. Therefore, the containers will generally have different number of atoms of the material, but their average will be approx 5000.