All living things contain carbon. Most of this carbon is stable carbon-12. Howev

Question

All living things contain carbon. Most of this carbon is stable carbon-12. However, a small percentage will be carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon that decays with time. As living things eat and breath, carbon is constantly recycled, and therefore the amount of carbon remains constant. It's not until death that the amount of carbon-14 will begin to diminish due to decay. Therefore, we can determine how long organic material has been dead by comparing its carbon-14 content to the amount expected for a living organism. Part A The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years. Therefore, 5730 years after being cut from a tree, a piece of wood will have 50.0% of the carbon-14 that it had originally. What percentage of the original carbon-14 will remain in the wood after another 5730 years? Express the percentage numerically. Hints

Explanation / Answer

A)

half life = 5730 y

find % of C-14 after t = 5730

first 5730 years --> 50%

2nd 5730 years --> 50/2 = 25%

there will be 25% original C-14 lef in the wood

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