11.54 minutes
Explanation:
The decay rate equation is given by
[tex]N = N_0e^{-\frac{t}{\lambda}}[/tex]
where [tex]\lambda[/tex] is the half-life. We can rewrite this as
[tex]\dfrac{N}{N_0} = e^{-\frac{t}{\lambda}}[/tex]
Taking the natural logarithm of both sides, we get
[tex]\ln \left(\dfrac{N}{N_0}\right) = -\left(\dfrac{t}{\lambda}\right)[/tex]
Solving for [tex]\lambda[/tex],
[tex]\lambda = -\dfrac{t}{\ln \left(\frac{N}{N_0}\right)}[/tex]
[tex]\:\:\:\:= -\dfrac{(24\:\text{minutes})}{\ln \left(\frac{1000\:\text{counts/min}}{8000\:\text{counts/min}}\right)}[/tex]
[tex]\:\:\:\:=11.54\:\text{minutes}[/tex]
