A meteorite is determined to be 4.5 billion years old. It now has 78 atoms of lead-206. Assuming no loss of daughter isotopes, how many atoms of uranium-238 did the meteorite have to begin with? The half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years.

a) 156

b) 312

c) 78

d) 238

Question

Biology

Dillon

20 December, 20:19

A meteorite is determined to be 4.5 billion years old. It now has 78 atoms of lead-206. Assuming no loss of daughter isotopes, how many atoms of uranium-238 did the meteorite have to begin with? The half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years.

a) 156

b) 312

c) 78

d) 238

+2

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Teresa Bentley · Answer 1

Given the age of the meteorite is 4.5 billion years old with 78 atoms of lead-206 the answer should be B. 156. The half-life of uranium-238 in order to decay into lead-206 is 4.46 billion years, which means that the original number of atoms is 156.

A meteorite is determined to be 4.5 billion years old. It now has 78 atoms of lead-206. Assuming no loss of daughter isotopes, how many atoms of uranium-238 did the meteorite have to begin with? The half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years.a) 156b) 312c) 78d) 238

A meteorite is determined to be 4.5 billion years old. It now has 78 atoms of lead-206. Assuming no loss of daughter isotopes, how many atoms of uranium-238 did the meteorite have to begin with? The half-life of uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years.

a) 156

b) 312

c) 78

d) 238