The age of fossil when C-14: C-12 in bone is one fourth of ratio in bone of living animal and half-life of C-14 is 5732 years is:
Correct answer: B. 11460 years
- A. 100 years
- B. 11460 years
- C. 1000 years
- D. 1200 years
Explanation
The explanation is given below: The C-14 to C-12 ratio in the fossil is one-fourth of the ratio in a living animal's bone, meaning only 25% of the original C-14 is left. Using the C-14 half-life of 5732 years: Take that 25% (0.25) and apply this formula: Age (in years) = (5732 years) × ln(0.25) / ln(0.5) Calculate: Age ≈ 11460 years So, the age of the fossil, based on the given C-14 to C-12 ratio, is approximately 11460 years.
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About Half-life and Rate of Decay
Half-life is the time required for half the unstable nuclei in a sample to decay, and it remains constant for a particular radioactive nuclide. Questions use the exponential decay law, decay constant, activity, remaining quantity and mean life. Radioactive decay is random for individual nuclei but predictable for large samples.
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