Final answer:
Carbon dating assumes the half-life of carbon-14 (14C) remains constant over time, which is essential for providing accurate age estimations of organic materials. The half-life of approximately 5,730 years allows scientists to measure the decline in 14C since an organism's death and determine its age.
Step-by-step explanation:
The method of carbon dating used to determine age depends upon the assumption that the half-life of 14C does not depend upon conditions external to the 14C nucleus. Carbon dating, also known as radiocarbon dating, is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The process is based on the fact that when a living organism dies, it no longer takes in 14C, and the existing 14C starts to decay at a known rate, with a half-life of 5,730 years. By measuring the remaining 14C versus the stable nonradioactive isotopes of carbon (such as 12C), scientists can calculate the amount of time that has passed since the organism's death.
It is crucial that the half-life of 14C remains constant regardless of the physical or chemical conditions; otherwise, the estimated ages calculated through carbon dating would not be accurate. This consistency of the half-life ensures that carbon dating remains a reliable tool in estimating the ages of specimens in archaeology, anthropology, and other sciences dealing with historical or ancient organic material.