Math  /  Calculus

QuestionA sample of 9 grams of radioactive material is placed in a vault. Let P(t)P(t) be the amount remaining after tt years, and let P(t)P(t) satisfy the differential equation P(t)=0.032P(t)P^{\prime}(t)=-0.032 P(t). Answer parts (a)(a) through (g)(g). (a) Find the formula for P(t)P(t). P(t)=P(t)=\square (Type an expression using t as the variable.)

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? We've got some radioactive material decaying, and we need to figure out how much is left after a certain amount of time. Watch out! Don't mix up the decay constant with the actual amount of material!

STEP 2

1. Set up the differential equation.
2. Solve for P(t)P(t).
3. Determine the constant using the initial condition.

STEP 3

We're given the differential equation P(t)=0.032P(t)P'(t) = -0.032 \cdot P(t).
This tells us how the amount of material, P(t)P(t), changes over time.
The negative sign indicates it's *decaying*.

STEP 4

This differential equation screams "exponential decay"!
We can rewrite it as P(t)P(t)=0.032.\frac{P'(t)}{P(t)} = -0.032.

STEP 5

Now, we can **integrate both sides** with respect to tt: P(t)P(t)dt=0.032dt.\int \frac{P'(t)}{P(t)} \, dt = \int -0.032 \, dt.

STEP 6

The left side integrates to lnP(t)\ln|P(t)|, and the right side to 0.032t+C-0.032 \cdot t + C, where CC is the constant of integration.
So we have lnP(t)=0.032t+C.\ln|P(t)| = -0.032 \cdot t + C.

STEP 7

To get rid of the natural log, we can **exponentiate both sides**: P(t)=e0.032t+C.P(t) = e^{-0.032 \cdot t + C}.

STEP 8

Using properties of exponents, we can rewrite this as P(t)=eCe0.032t.P(t) = e^C \cdot e^{-0.032 \cdot t}. Since eCe^C is just another constant, let's call it AA.
This gives us a cleaner formula: P(t)=Ae0.032t.P(t) = A \cdot e^{-0.032 \cdot t}.

STEP 9

We know that at the beginning (t=0t = 0), we have **9 grams** of material.
So, P(0)=9P(0) = 9.
Let's plug this into our formula: 9=Ae0.0320.9 = A \cdot e^{-0.032 \cdot 0}.

STEP 10

Since e0=1e^0 = 1, we have 9=A19 = A \cdot 1, which means A=9A = 9!

STEP 11

Now we can plug this back into our formula for P(t)P(t): P(t)=9e0.032t.P(t) = 9 \cdot e^{-0.032 \cdot t}.

STEP 12

The formula for P(t)P(t) is P(t)=9e0.032tP(t) = 9e^{-0.032t}.

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