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Medical College Admission Test
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems

Decay of Radon-222 from Uranium-238

Very Hard Physics Atomic And Nuclear Physics

In a specific nuclear reaction, a certain isotope of uranium-238 is bombarded with neutrons in a reactor environment, resulting in the release of a large amount of energy and the formation of various daughter isotopes. The decay chain produces multiple radioactive isotopes, one of which is radon-222. In this scenario, consider the concepts of half-life and energy release through fission as related to these isotopes.

Assuming that the half-life of uranium-238 is approximately 4.5 billion years and that radon-222 has a half-life of about 3.8 days, calculate the amount of radon-222 that would remain after 15.2 days if you started with 1 gram of radon-222 from the decay of uranium-238. Which of the following best represents the amount of radon-222 remaining after this time?

Hint

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