Final answer:
To determine the age of the fossil, we can use carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years. By calculating the number of half-lives that have passed based on the 18% of carbon-14 remaining in the fossil, we can determine that the fossil is approximately 14,045 years old.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the age of the fossil, we can use the concept of carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years, which means that after 5,730 years, half of the original amount of carbon-14 will have decayed. In this case, the fossil has 18% of the carbon-14 found in a living sample. Using this information, we can calculate the age of the fossil.
To find the age of the fossil, we can set up the following equation:
0.18 = (1/2)^(n), where n is the number of half-lives that have passed. We can solve for n by taking the logarithm of both sides:
n = log(base 1/2) 0.18 = 2.46
Since each half-life is 5,730 years, we can multiply the number of half-lives by the half-life to find the age of the fossil:
Age = 2.46 x 5,730 = 14,045 years
Therefore, the fossil is approximately 14,045 years old.