Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781337399920
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Textbook Question
Chapter 18, Problem 7P
You analyze a sample of a meteorite that landed on Earth and find 15/16 of a certain type of radioactive atoms have decayed into the corresponding daughter atom. Calculate the number of half-lives that have occurred.
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You analyze a sample of a meteorite that landed on Earth and find that
15
16
of a certain type of radioactive atoms have decayed into the corresponding daughter atom. Calculate the number of half-lives that have occurred.
half-lives
A sample from a meteorite that landed on Earth has been analyzed, and the result shows that out of every 1,000 nuclei of potassium-40 originally in the meteorite, only 250 are still present, meaning they have not yet decayed. How old is the meteorite (in yr)? (Hint: See the figure below.) (Note: The half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years.)
Figure
A graph and a series of bar charts above it both show the percentage of radioactive atoms remaining in a mineral sample. Detailed descriptions of the graph and the bar charts are available in the adjacent lists.
A sample from a meteorite that landed on Earth has been analyzed, and the result shows that out of every 1,000 nuclei of potassium-40 originally in the meteorite, only 125 are
still present, meaning they have not yet decayed. How old is the meteorite (in yr)? (Hint: See the figure below.) (Note: The half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years.)
Figure
Graph
Bar charts
A mineral sample
containing radioactive
atoms :, which decay
into daughter atoms
100
Percentage of
radioactive and
daughter atoms
in the mineral
50
100
Percentage of
-radioactive atoms
remaining
Age in half-lives
yr
Percentage remaining
Chapter 18 Solutions
Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 18 - Why was the nebular hypothesis never fully...Ch. 18 - What produced the helium now present in the Suns...Ch. 18 - What produced the iron and heavier elements such...Ch. 18 - Prob. 4RQCh. 18 - What evidence can you give that disks of gas and...Ch. 18 - Why is the solar nebula theory considered a theory...Ch. 18 - According to the solar nebula theory, why is...Ch. 18 - According to the solar nebula theory, why is there...Ch. 18 - Why does the solar nebula theory predict that...Ch. 18 - What evidence can you give that the Solar System...
Ch. 18 - What planet in the Solar System is larger than the...Ch. 18 - Why is almost every solid surface in the Solar...Ch. 18 - What is the difference between condensation and...Ch. 18 - Why dont Terrestrial planets have ring systems...Ch. 18 - How does the solar nebula theory help you...Ch. 18 - Prob. 16RQCh. 18 - If rocks obtained from the Moon indicate an age of...Ch. 18 - Which is older, the Moon or the Sun? How do you...Ch. 18 - How does the solar nebula theory explain the...Ch. 18 - Did hydrogen gas condense from the nebula as the...Ch. 18 - What happens if a planet has differentiated? Would...Ch. 18 - Order the following steps in the formation of a...Ch. 18 - Which step(s) listed in the previous question can...Ch. 18 - Describe two processes that could melt the...Ch. 18 - What is the evidence that Jupiter and Saturn are...Ch. 18 - Describe two processes that cleared the solar...Ch. 18 - What is the difference between a planetesimal and...Ch. 18 - Does Uranus have enough mass to have formed by...Ch. 18 - What properties of the gas and dust disks observed...Ch. 18 - Why would the astronomically short lifetime of gas...Ch. 18 - Prob. 31RQCh. 18 - Describe three methods to find extrasolar planets.Ch. 18 - Why is the existence of hot Jupiters puzzling?...Ch. 18 - The evidence is overwhelming that the Grand Canyon...Ch. 18 - Prob. 35RQCh. 18 - If you observed the Solar System from the vantage...Ch. 18 - Venus can be as bright as apparent magnitude 4.7...Ch. 18 - What is the smallest-diameter crater you can...Ch. 18 - Prob. 4PCh. 18 - Prob. 5PCh. 18 - You analyze a sample of a meteorite that landed on...Ch. 18 - You analyze a sample of a meteorite that landed on...Ch. 18 - Prob. 8PCh. 18 - Examine Table 18-2. What might a planets...Ch. 18 - Examine Table 18-2. What might a planets...Ch. 18 - Suppose that Earth grew to its present size in 10...Ch. 18 - Prob. 12PCh. 18 - Prob. 13PCh. 18 - Prob. 1SOPCh. 18 - Prob. 2SOPCh. 18 - What do you see in this image that indicates this...Ch. 18 - Why do astronomers conclude that the surface of...Ch. 18 - Prob. 3LTLCh. 18 - Prob. 4LTL
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- A sample from a meteorite that landed on Earth has been analyzed, and the result shows that out of every 1,000 nuclei of potassium-40 originally in the meteorite, only 125 are still present, meaning they have not yet decayed. How old is the meteorite (in yr)? (Hint: See the figure below.) (Note: The half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years.) Figure Graph Bar charts A mineral sample containing radioactive atoms :, which decay into daughter atoms :: 100 Percentage of radioactive and 50 daughter atoms in the mineral 100 Percentage of 50 -radioactive atoms remaining 2 3 Age in half-lives yr Percentage remaining :---1/2 remain----ER 1/4 remain---- ---: 1/8 remain-------arrow_forwardA sample from a meteorite that landed on Earth has been analyzed, and the result shows that out of every 1,000 nuclei of potassium-40 originally in the meteorite, only 250 are still present, meaning they have not yet decayed. How old is the meteorite (in yr)? (Hint: See the figure below.) (Note: The half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years.)arrow_forwardTorgeir is on a geology field trip and finds a meteorite that contains 6 times more argon-40 than potassium-40. The half-life of potassium-40 is 1.25 x 10° years. Assume the only decay product is argon-40. How old is the rock in billions of years (10° years)?arrow_forward
- The radioactive potassium-40 isotope decays to argon-40. A 2.97 x 10^9 year old sample of moon rock was found to contain 18% potassium-40 and 82% argon-40 by mass. Calculate the half-life of potassium-40 isotope.arrow_forwardRock B was found to contain 6 atoms of a parent isotope and 94 atoms of its daughter isotope. If the half-life of the parent- daughter isotope pair is 2 million years, what is the absolute age of Rock B? Parent atoms remaining 100 94 atoms 87 atoms 80 75 atoms 60 50 atoms 40 25 atoms 13 atoms 6 atoms 1 2 3 4 Number of half-lives (Elapsed time) 2 million years old 4 million years old 6 million years old 8 million years old 94 million years old LO 20 Number of atoms (percent)arrow_forwardCharan is at NASA analyzing Moon rocks. In one of the rocks from the lunar highlands, he discovered 37 % of the original uranium-238 remains, while remaining amount of uranium-238 had decayed into lead. The half life of uranium-238 is 4.5 × 109 years. Assume the only decay product is lead. How old is the lunar maria rock in billions of years (109 years)?arrow_forward
- A radioactive nucleus has a half-life of 5108 years. Assuming that a sample of rock (say, in an asteroid) solidified right after the solar system formed, approximately what fraction of the radioactive element should be left in the rock today?arrow_forwardXavier is at NASA analyzing Moon rocks. In one of the rocks from the lunar Maria, he discovered 80% of the original uranium-238 remains, while remaining amount of uranium-238 had decayed into lead. The half life of uranium-238 is 4.5 x 109 years. Assume the only decay product is lead. How old is the lunar Maria rock in billions of years (109 years) ?arrow_forwardif the amount of the parent isotope in the original sample of a rock had been 48 grams, about how much would have been left after three half-lives?arrow_forward
- The half-life of Carbon-13 is 5750 years. Samples taken at an excavation site show that a one-kilogram sample has 65% Carbon-13 as compared to a normal sample. What is the age of the sample?arrow_forwardThe Tunguska asteroid is estimated to have had a diameter of 50 m, and to have produced an explosion equivalent to 10 megatons of TNT (1 megaton = 4.2 x 1015 joules). Assume that the asteroid was a sphere with density 2 g/cm3. Using the kinetic energy formula K = ½ mv2, where m is the mass and v is the speed, to estimate the speed of the asteroid. Assume that all kinetic energy is converted into the energy of the explosion. Give your answer in km/s with one significant figure.arrow_forwardThe iron meteorite that created Barringer Crater (Arizona) was 50 m in diameter. It caused a crater 1.2 km (1200 m) in diameter, that is, 24 times bigger than the impactor. Keeping in mind that the size of the crater depends on many factors, such as the type of rocks present in the area, estimate the approximate size of the impactor that produced Mare Serenitatis.arrow_forward
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