Question

A collector of rare items is negotiating with a museum. He wants to sell a stake he claims to be one that was made to kill Dracula in the 1400s. A stake size would have started with around 2 g of carbon-14, and the museum tests show it now contains around 1 g. How many half-lives have passed since the stake was carved?

a. 1 half-life
b. 2 half-lives
c. 3 half-lives
d. 4 half-lives

Answer 1

The stake initially had 2 grams of Carbon-14 and now contains 1 gram, indicating that one half-life of approximately 5,730 years has passed. Thus, one half-life is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question at hand involves the process of radioactive decay and the concept of half-lives, particularly related to carbon-14 (C-14) in a stake that a collector is attempting to sell to a museum. Carbon-14 dating is the method of establishing the age of carbonaceous materials and is based on the decay of C-14 to nitrogen-14. The half-life of C-14 is approximately 5,730 years, meaning that every 5,730 years, the quantity of C-14 is reduced by half. If the stake initially contained 2 grams of C-14, and now only contains 1 gram, this indicates that one half-life has passed since the stake was made.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question 'How many half-lives have passed since the stake was carved?' is a. 1 half-life.