Anthropologists can estimate the age of a bone or other organic matter by its ca

Question

Anthropologists can estimate the age of a bone or other organic matter by its carbon-14 content. The carbon-14 in a living organism is constant until the organism dies, after which carbon-14 decays with first-order kinetics and a half-life of 5730 years. Suppose a bone from an ancient human contains 16.0% of the C14 found in living organisms.

Part A

How old is the bone?

Anthropologists can estimate the age of a bone or other organic matter by its carbon-14 content. The carbon-14 in a living organism is constant until the organism dies, after which carbon-14 decays with first-order kinetics and a half-life of 5730 years. Suppose a bone from an ancient human contains 16.0% of the C14 found in living organisms.

Part A

How old is the bone?

uestion 12 Constants I Periodic Table Part A Anthropologists can estimate the age of a bone or other organic matter by its carbon-14 content. The carbon-14 in a living organism is constant until the organism dies, after which carbon-14 decays with first-order kinetics and a half-life of 5730 years Suppose a bone from an ancient human contains 16.0% of the C-14 found in living organisms. How old is the bone? yr Submit Request Answer Provide Feedback

Explanation / Answer

radio active decay follows 1st order , hence we use 1st order kinectis formula

k = ( ln2) / t1/2     where k is decay constant , t1/2 = half life =5730 yr

k = ( 0.693 /5730) = 0.000121 yr-1

now t = ( 1/k) ln ( Ao/At)     where Ao iniial C14 amount = 100 % , At = amount left = 16 %

t = ( 1/0.000121yr-1) ln ( 100/16)

   = 15158 years

Thus bone is 15158 years old

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