Question

A certain radioactive material can undergo three different types of decay, each with a different decay constant $\lambda ,2\lambda$, and $3\lambda$. Then, the effective decay constant ${\lambda }_{eff}$ is equal to $n\lambda$. What is the value of n?

Answer 1

The effective decay constant is the sum of all decay constants of the different decays. i.e,
${\lambda }_{eff}={\lambda }_1+{\lambda }_2+{\lambda }_3=\lambda +2\lambda +3\lambda =6\lambda$
Thus, $n=6$