Radiocarbon Dating Carbon dating is a proces which compares the amount of carbon-14 present in a plant or animal artifact today to the amount of carbon-14 which would have been present in the artifact at the time of the plant/animal's death. Since we know that the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, we can determine the rate at which carbon-14 breaks down, and therefore how much time must have passed in order to reach today's carbon-14 levels. Problem 5: A sample collected from cave paintings on an archacological site in France shows that only 20% of the carbon-14 still remains. (a) Use the half-life of carbon-14 and the formula you found in problem 5 to find the decay rate k of carbon-14. (b) Write an exponential function which measures the amount of carbon-14 remaining using the value of k you found in (a). Since we do not know the initial amount of carbon present, leave Ao in the equation. (c) How can we express the amount of carbon remaining in the paintings if there was Ao to begin with? (d) Use your answer from part (b) to set up an equation which you can solve for t to determine the age of the cave paintings to the nearest year.
Radiocarbon Dating Carbon dating is a proces which compares the amount of carbon-14 present in a plant or animal artifact today to the amount of carbon-14 which would have been present in the artifact at the time of the plant/animal's death. Since we know that the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, we can determine the rate at which carbon-14 breaks down, and therefore how much time must have passed in order to reach today's carbon-14 levels. Problem 5: A sample collected from cave paintings on an archacological site in France shows that only 20% of the carbon-14 still remains. (a) Use the half-life of carbon-14 and the formula you found in problem 5 to find the decay rate k of carbon-14. (b) Write an exponential function which measures the amount of carbon-14 remaining using the value of k you found in (a). Since we do not know the initial amount of carbon present, leave Ao in the equation. (c) How can we express the amount of carbon remaining in the paintings if there was Ao to begin with? (d) Use your answer from part (b) to set up an equation which you can solve for t to determine the age of the cave paintings to the nearest year.
Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
8th Edition
ISBN:9781259696527
Author:J.M. Smith Termodinamica en ingenieria quimica, Hendrick C Van Ness, Michael Abbott, Mark Swihart
Publisher:J.M. Smith Termodinamica en ingenieria quimica, Hendrick C Van Ness, Michael Abbott, Mark Swihart
Chapter1: Introduction
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1.1P
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Transcribed Image Text:Radiocarbon Dating
Carbon dating is a process which compares the amount of carbon-14 present in a plant
or animal artifact today to the amount of carbon-14 which would have been present in
the artifact at the time of the plant/animal's death.
Since we know that the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, we can determine the
rate at which carbon-14 breaks down, and therefore how much time must have passed
in order to reach today's carbon-14 levels.
Problem 5: A sample collected from cave paintings on an archaeological site in France
shows that only 20% of the carbon-14 still remains.
(a) Use the half-life of carbon-14 and the formula you found in problem 5 to find the decay
rate k of carbon-14.
(b) Write an exponential function which measures the amount of carbon-14 remaining using
the value of k you found in (a). Since we do not know the initial amount of carbon
present, leave Ao in the equation.
(c) How can we express the amount of carbon remaining in the paintings if there was Ao to
begin with?
(d) Use your answer from part (b) to set up an equation which you can solve for t to determine
the
age
of the cave paintings to the nearest year.
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