Correct!
| Use the equation we have derived for carbon dating, N(t) = N0 e − 0.0001216 t,
to answer the following question. It may be helpful to know that the
half-life of 14C is 5700 years. |
||
Problem 1- Calculate the amount of 14C remaining in a sample. Suppose an organism has 20 g of 14C at its time of death. Approximately how much 14C remains after 10,320 years? |
||
| 5.7 g | ||
Substituting t = 10,320 into the equation for carbon dating, N(10320) = 20 e(−0.0001216)·(10320) ≈ 5.7. Thus, an initial sample containing 20 g of 14C contains approximately 5.7 g after 10,320 years. This answer makes sense because the half-life of 14C is 5700 years, meaning there would be 10 g left after 5700 years and 5 g after 11,400 years. |
||