27.2k views
0 votes
By using carbon-14, scientists were able to determine that 436 half-lifes have occurred since this specimen died. How old is this fossil? The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years. **TWO PART QUESTION** Please explain all your steps for part b!!

By using carbon-14, scientists were able to determine that 436 half-lifes have occurred-example-1
By using carbon-14, scientists were able to determine that 436 half-lifes have occurred-example-1
By using carbon-14, scientists were able to determine that 436 half-lifes have occurred-example-2
User Vitaut
by
3.8k points

1 Answer

5 votes

In this question, we have to calculate the age of a fossil after the decay of Carbon-14 436 times, with a half-life of 5730 years, and in order to do that, we can multiply both values, one example to understand this step better is:

Let's say we have a 2 times decay of a certain amount of Carbon-14, we can say that 11,460 years have passed by, and we can check it:

x grams of C 14 = 0 years

x/2 grams of C 14 = 5730 years, 1st decay

x/4 grams of C 14 = 11460 years, 2nd decay

Therefore with 436 decays

5730 * 436 = 2,498,280 years this is the age of this fossil

Part B:

For this part, we will need to use the Half-Life formula, which is the following:

N(t) = N0(1/2)^t/t1/2

Where:

N(t) = quantity of the substance remaining, 2.2*10^-78

N0 = initial quantity of the substance

t = time elapsed, 2,498,280 years

t1/2 = half life of the substance, 5730 years

Now we add these values into the formula:

2.2*10^-78 = N0(1/2)2,498,280/5730

2.2*10^-78 = N0(1/2)^436

2.2*10^-78 = 5.63*10^-132N0

N0 = 2.2*10^-78/5.63*10^-132

N0 = 3.91*10^53 was the initial quantity

User Geekyaleks
by
4.0k points