The normal activity of living carbon-containing matter is found to be about $15$ decays per minute for every gram of carbon. This activity arises from the small proportion of radioactive $_{6}^{14}C$ present with the stable carbon isotope $_{6}^{12}C$. When the organism is dead,its interaction with the atmosphere (which maintains the above equilibrium activity) ceases and its activity begins to drop. From the known half-life ($5730$ years) of $_{6}^{14}C$,and the measured activity,the age of the specimen can be approximately estimated. This is the principle of $_{6}^{14}C$ dating used in archaeology. Suppose a specimen from Mohenjodaro gives an activity of $9$ decays per minute per gram of carbon. Estimate the approximate age (in years) of the Indus-Valley civilisation.

The half-life of radioactive Polonium $(Po)$ is $138.6$ days. For $10^6$ Polonium atoms,the number of disintegrations in $24$ hours is:

If the measurement errors in all the independent quantities are known,then it is possible to determine the error in any dependent quantity. This is done by the use of series expansion and truncating the expansion at the first power of the error. For example,consider the relation $z = x / y$. If the errors in $x, y$ and $z$ are $\Delta x, \Delta y$ and $\Delta z$,respectively,then $z \pm \Delta z = \frac{x \pm \Delta x}{y \pm \Delta y} = \frac{x}{y} (1 \pm \frac{\Delta x}{x}) (1 \pm \frac{\Delta y}{y})^{-1}$. The series expansion for $(1 \pm \frac{\Delta y}{y})^{-1}$,to first power in $\Delta y / y$,is $1 \mp (\Delta y / y)$. The relative errors in independent variables are always added. So the error in $z$ will be $\Delta z = z (\frac{\Delta x}{x} + \frac{\Delta y}{y})$. The above derivation makes the assumption that $\Delta x / x \ll 1, \Delta y / y \ll 1$. Therefore,the higher powers of these quantities are neglected.
$(1)$ Consider the ratio $r = \frac{(1 - a)}{(1 + a)}$ to be determined by measuring a dimensionless quantity $a$. If the error in the measurement of $a$ is $\Delta a$ $(\Delta a / a \ll 1)$,then what is the error $\Delta r$?
$(2)$ In an experiment,the initial number of radioactive nuclei is $3000$. It is found that $1000 \pm 40$ nuclei decayed in the first $1.0 \ s$. For $|x| < 1$,$\ln(1 + x) = x$ up to first power in $x$. The error $\Delta \lambda$,in the determination of the decay constant $\lambda$,in $s^{-1}$,is:

The activity of a sample of radioactive material is $A_1$ at time $t_1$ and $A_2$ at time $t_2$ $(t_2 > t_1)$. Its mean life is $T$.

Write the definition of half-life of a radioactive substance and obtain its relation to the decay constant.

For a substance,the average life for $\alpha$-emission is $1620 \ years$ and for $\beta$-emission is $405 \ years$. After how much time will $\frac{1}{4}$ of the material remain due to simultaneous emission?