Join the Most Relevant JEE Main 2025 Test Series & get 99+ percentile! Join Now
Search any question & find its solution
Question: Answered & Verified by Expert
There is a stream of neutrons with a kinetic energy of 0.0327 eV. If the half-life of the neutron is 700 second, what fraction of neutrons will decay before they travel a distance of 10 m? Given the mass of neutron = 1.675 × 10-27 kg.
PhysicsNuclear PhysicsJEE Main
Options:
  • A 3.96×10-6
     
  • B 3.90×10-6
     
  • C 3.85×10-6
     
  • D 4.86×10-6
     
Solution:
2708 Upvotes Verified Answer
The correct answer is: 3.96×10-6
 
From the given kinetic energy of the neutrons we first calculate their velocity. Thus

         12mv2=0.0327×1.6×10-19

∴        v 2 = 2 × 0 . 0 3 2 7 × 1 . 6 × 1 0 - 1 9 1 . 6 7 5 × 1 0 - 2 7 = 6 2 5 × 1 0 4

or       v = 2500 m s-1

With this speed, the time taken by the neutrons to travel a distance of 10 m is,

          Δt=102500=4×10-3 s

The fraction of neutrons decayed in time Δt second is,

          ΔNN=λΔt

Also,    λ = 0 . 6 9 3 T 1 / 2

∴        Δ N N = 0 . 6 9 3 T 1 / 2 Δ t = 0 . 6 9 3 7 0 0 × 4 × 1 0 - 3 = 3 . 9 6 × 1 0 - 6

Looking for more such questions to practice?

Download the MARKS App - The ultimate prep app for IIT JEE & NEET with chapter-wise PYQs, revision notes, formula sheets, custom tests & much more.