5.6k views
0 votes
fossil is found to have 6.25% of its original radioactive isotopes remaining. How old is the fossil if one half life is about 500 years?

User Jonah Katz
by
7.9k points

1 Answer

0 votes

Final answer:

To determine the age of the fossil, we need to calculate the number of half-lives that have passed. If one half-life is about 500 years and the fossil has 6.25% of its original radioactive isotopes remaining, we can calculate that the fossil is approximately 937.5 years old.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the age of the fossil, we can use the concept of half-life. The half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive isotopes to decay. In this case, if one half-life is about 500 years and the fossil has 6.25% of its original radioactive isotopes remaining, we can calculate the number of half-lives that have passed.

First, let's find the number of half-lives. If 6.25% of the radioactive isotopes are remaining, it means that 93.75% (100% - 6.25%) have decayed. We can express this as a decimal by dividing 93.75% by 100: 0.9375.

Next, we can determine the number of half-lives by dividing 0.9375 by 0.5 (since half of the radioactive isotopes decay in each half-life): 0.9375/0.5 = 1.875. This means that approximately 1.875 half-lives have passed since the formation of the fossil.

Finally, we can calculate the age of the fossil by multiplying the number of half-lives by the length of one half-life: 1.875 x 500 years = 937.5 years. Therefore, the fossil is approximately 937.5 years old.

User Jamuraa
by
8.5k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.

9.4m questions

12.2m answers

Categories