Petroleum is a fossil fuel containing many different carboncompounds. If the car

Question

Petroleum is a fossil fuel containing many different carboncompounds. If the carbon atoms in petroleum have been in the groundfor 100 million years, what fraction of the intial 14Catoms is still there? (t 1/2=5,370 yr) a. 0 b. 1 x 10-10 c. 5.7 x 10-5 d. 1.0 x 10 -3 e. 5.7 x 10-1 I submitted this question before but I still don'tunderstand. Petroleum is a fossil fuel containing many different carboncompounds. If the carbon atoms in petroleum have been in the groundfor 100 million years, what fraction of the intial 14Catoms is still there? (t 1/2=5,370 yr) a. 0 b. 1 x 10-10 c. 5.7 x 10-5 d. 1.0 x 10 -3 e. 5.7 x 10-1 I submitted this question before but I still don'tunderstand. I submitted this question before but I still don'tunderstand.

Explanation / Answer

Use the equation Nt =No(1/2)t/t1/2 where Nt is theamount remaining, No is the initial amount, t is thetime, and t1/2 is the half-life. Since we want a fraction of theoriginal, we can use No = 1. Nt =No(1/2)t/t1/2Nt =1(1/2)(100x10^6)/5370 Nt = 0 The number is so minute and close to zero that it cannot becalculated. There would be 18622 half lives in 100 millionyears.

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