Question

Invented in 1955, it is based on the fact that living organisms continually absorb carbon isotopes, including radioactive carbon-14, which continually disintegrates into nonradioactive nitrogen-14; upon death of an organism, absorption ceases, but disintegration continues. Since the rate of disintegration is known, deductions about age can be made based on the amount of carbon-14 remaining.

Dendrochronology An alternative dating method based on the tree rings found in timber; bristle-cone pines in CA dating back as far as 4,000 B.C.E. serve as reference.

Options:
A) 1800
B) 1955
C) 1500
D) 500 B.C.E.

Answer 1

Carbon-14 dating is a radiometric method used to determine the age of organic materials up to 60,000 years old, by measuring the remaining radioisotope carbon-14 after an organism's death. Developed by Willard Libby, who won the Nobel Prize for it, this method's accuracy has been verified through other dating techniques.

Step-by-step explanation:

Radioactive dating, specifically carbon-14 dating, is a method used to determine the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon (¹4C), a radioactive isotope of carbon. When an organism is alive, it takes in ¹4C and maintains a constant level due to the balance between the intake of ¹4C and its natural decay. After an organism dies, this intake stops and the ¹4C starts to decay at a known rate with a half-life of 5,730 years; by measuring the remaining ¹4C in the dead organism, we can estimate its time of death or the age of the object.

Willard Libby developed this dating method, for which he later received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960. The effectiveness of ¹4C dating is confirmed through cross-referencing with other methods such as dendrochronology or tree-ring dating. This technique is widely used in fields like archaeology and geology to date artifacts and fossil remains up to about 50,000 to 60,000 years old.