The half-life of carbon-14 is 5600 years. if a piece of charcoal made from the wood of a tree shows only 62% of the carbon-1

Question

3 years ago

13

4 expected in living matter, when did the tree die?

1 answer:

sasho [114] · Answer 1 · 2021-12-19T03:09:24+03:00

The amount of carbon-14 present obeys an exponential decay law.

A(t) = A(0)e-^kt

Get k from the half-life:

0.5 = 1e-^k(5600)

k = ln(0.5) / (-5600 years) = 1.2378 x 10^-4 years^-1

If only 73% of the carbon-14 remains after time T, then

0.73 = 1e^-kT

T = ln(0.73) / (-1.2378 x 10^-4 years^-1) = 2542.5 years

The tree has been dead for about 2542.5 years.

The​ half-life of​ carbon-14 is 5600 years. if a piece of charcoal made from the wood of a tree shows only 62​% of the​ carbon-1