Answer:
[tex]15\text{ grams}[/tex]
Step-by-step explanation:
Since the mass of the radioactive isotope is halved every 69 years, we want to multiply its initial mass by [tex]1/2[/tex] every 69 years.
We can model this using the following equation:
The remaining mass, [tex]f(x)[/tex], is equal to the initial mass multiplied by [tex]\frac{1}{2}^{(\frac{t}{69})}[/tex], where [tex]t[/tex] is the number of years that have passed from the initial mass. The reason why the exponent is [tex]\frac{t}{69}[/tex] is because we only want to half the mass every 69 years, so [tex]\frac{69}{69}=1[/tex] and [tex]\frac{1}{2}^1=\frac{1}{2}[/tex].
Thus, we have:
[tex]f(x)=20\cdot \frac{1}{2}^{(t/69)}[/tex]
Substituting [tex]t=30[/tex], we get:
[tex]f(x)=20\cdot \frac{1}{2}^{(30/69)}=20\cdot 0.73980522316=14.7961044632\approx \boxed{15\text{ grams}}[/tex]