Enter your answer in the provided box Insulin is a polypepti

Enter your answer in the provided box. Insulin is a polypeptide hormone released from the pancreas that stimulates fat and muscle to take up glucose. In a certain patient, it has a first-order half-life in the blood of 5.2 min. To maintain an adequate blood concentration of insulin, it must be replenished in a time interval equal to 1/k. How long is the time interval in this patient? min

Solution

Given:
Half life = 5.2 min
use relation between rate constant and half life of 1st order reaction

k = (ln 2) / k
= 0.693/(half life)
= 0.693/(5.2)
= 0.1333 min-1

time interval = 1/k
= 1/0.1333 min-1
= 7.50 min
Answer: 7.50 min