Question

A fossil was analyzed and determined to have a carbon-14 level that is 70 % that of living organisms. The half-life of c-14 is 5730 years. How old is the fossil?

Answer 1

• The fossil is 2,950 years old.

Step-by-step explanation:

Since the living organisms stop the metabolic processes when dye, the age of the fossil is equal to the time the carbon-14 isotope (C-14) has been decaying.

Since the hal-life of the radioisotopes, such as carbon-14, is constant, you know that the amount of carbon-14 remaining reduces to half each time a half-life passes, i.e:

• One half-life ⇒ 1/2 remaining

• Two half-life ⇒ (1/2)² remaining

• Three half-life ⇒ (1/2)³ remaining

• n half-life ⇒ (1/2)ⁿ remaining

Now, knowing that 70% or 0.7 parts are remaining you can set the equation:

• 0.7 = (1/2)ⁿ, and solve for n, using logarithm properties:

• n log (1/2) = log (0.7)

• n = log (0.7) / log (1/2) = log (0.7) / log (0.5) = 0.5146

Which means that 0.5156 half-life has elapses, since the fossil started forming.

Since one half-life is 5730 years, the age of the fossil is 0.5156 × 5730 years = 2,948 years, which should be rounded to three signficant figures: 2,950 years.