Physics

Problem

A student estimates the number of disintegrations in a

30\,\text{min}

interval by multiplying the initial activity by the time. The actual initial activity is

2.0\times10^{4}\,\text{s}^{-1}

and the decay constant is

5.0\times10^{-4}\,\text{s}^{-1}

. What is the percentage error in the student’s estimate? a)

35\%

59\%

52\%

42\%