Edexcel C3 2008 January — Question 5

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleC3 (Core Mathematics 3)
Year2008
SessionJanuary
TopicExponential Functions

5. The radioactive decay of a substance is given by $$R = 1000 \mathrm { e } ^ { - c t } , \quad t \geqslant 0 .$$ where \(R\) is the number of atoms at time \(t\) years and \(c\) is a positive constant.
  1. Find the number of atoms when the substance started to decay. It takes 5730 years for half of the substance to decay.
  2. Find the value of \(c\) to 3 significant figures.
  3. Calculate the number of atoms that will be left when \(t = 22920\).
  4. In the space provided on page 13, sketch the graph of \(R\) against \(t\).