Question

The half-life of Carbon-14 is 5730 years. Suppose a fossil is found with 50% of Carbon-14 as compared to a living sample. How old is the fossil?

a) 572 years
b) 57 years
c) 5730 years
d) 5728 years

Answer 1

The fossil is approximately 5730 years old.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the age of the fossil, we can use the concept of half-life. The half-life of Carbon-14 is 5730 years, which means that after 5730 years, half of the Carbon-14 in a sample will have decayed. Since the fossil has 50% of the Carbon-14 compared to a living sample, we can conclude that it has gone through one half-life. Therefore, the fossil is approximately 5730 years old.

Answer 2

The answer is C. Because it takes 5730 years for half of a sample of carbon-14 atoms to decay. It says that 50% of the carbon atoms have decayed so that means that 5730 years have elapsed for that fossil.

I hope that helps.