Radiocarbon dating: Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that decays by emitting a beta particle. In the earth's atmosphere, approximately one carbon atom in 1012 is carbon- 14. Living organisms exchange carbon with the atmosphere, so this same ratio holds for living tissue. After an organism dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and its carbon-14 ratio decreases exponentially with time. The rate at which beta particles are emitted from a given mass of carbon is proportional to the carbon-14 ratio, so this rate decreases exponentially with time as well. By measuring the rate of beta emissions in a sample of tissue, the time since the death of the organism can be estimated. Specifically, it is known that t years after death, the number of beta particle emissions occurring in any given time interval from 1 g of carbon follows a Poisson distribution with rate i = 15.3e-0.0001210:events per minute. The number of yearst since the death of an organism can therefore be expressed in terms of 2: In 15.3 – In i t = 0.0001210 An archaeologist finds a small piece of charcoal from an ancient campsite. The charcoal contains 1 g of carbon. Unknown to the archaeologist, the charcoal is 11,000 years old. What is the true value of the emission rate 1? a. b. The archaeologist plans to count the number X of emissions in a 25 minute interval. Find the mean and standard deviation of X. The archaeologist then plans to estimate à with î=x/25 · What is the mean and standard deviation of ? C. What value for î would result in an age estimate of 10,000 years? d. What value for î would result in an age estimate of 12,000 years? e. f. What is the probability that the age estimate is correct to within ±1000 years?

MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications
6th Edition
ISBN:9781119256830
Author:Amos Gilat
Publisher:Amos Gilat
Chapter1: Starting With Matlab
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1P
icon
Related questions
Question
Radiocarbon dating: Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that decays by emitting a
beta particle. In the earth's atmosphere, approximately one carbon atom in 1012 is carbon-
14. Living organisms exchange carbon with the atmosphere, so this same ratio holds for
living tissue. After an organism dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and
its carbon-14 ratio decreases exponentially with time. The rate at which beta particles are
emitted from a given mass of carbon is proportional to the carbon-14 ratio, so this rate
decreases exponentially with time as well. By measuring the rate of beta emissions in a
sample of tissue, the time since the death of the organism can be estimated. Specifically, it
is known that t years after death, the number of beta particle emissions occurring in any
given time interval from 1 g of carbon follows a Poisson distribution with rate
i = 15.3e-0.0001210:events per minute. The number of yearst since the death of an organism
can therefore be expressed in terms of 2:
In 15.3 – In i
t =
0.0001210
An archaeologist finds a small piece of charcoal from an ancient campsite. The charcoal
contains 1 g of carbon.
Unknown to the archaeologist, the charcoal is 11,000 years old. What is the true value
of the emission rate 1?
a.
b.
The archaeologist plans to count the number X of emissions in a 25 minute interval.
Find the mean and standard deviation of X.
The archaeologist then plans to estimate à with î=x/25 · What is the mean and
standard deviation of ?
C.
What value for î would result in an age estimate of 10,000 years?
d.
What value for î would result in an age estimate of 12,000 years?
e.
f.
What is the probability that the age estimate is correct to within ±1000 years?
Transcribed Image Text:Radiocarbon dating: Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that decays by emitting a beta particle. In the earth's atmosphere, approximately one carbon atom in 1012 is carbon- 14. Living organisms exchange carbon with the atmosphere, so this same ratio holds for living tissue. After an organism dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and its carbon-14 ratio decreases exponentially with time. The rate at which beta particles are emitted from a given mass of carbon is proportional to the carbon-14 ratio, so this rate decreases exponentially with time as well. By measuring the rate of beta emissions in a sample of tissue, the time since the death of the organism can be estimated. Specifically, it is known that t years after death, the number of beta particle emissions occurring in any given time interval from 1 g of carbon follows a Poisson distribution with rate i = 15.3e-0.0001210:events per minute. The number of yearst since the death of an organism can therefore be expressed in terms of 2: In 15.3 – In i t = 0.0001210 An archaeologist finds a small piece of charcoal from an ancient campsite. The charcoal contains 1 g of carbon. Unknown to the archaeologist, the charcoal is 11,000 years old. What is the true value of the emission rate 1? a. b. The archaeologist plans to count the number X of emissions in a 25 minute interval. Find the mean and standard deviation of X. The archaeologist then plans to estimate à with î=x/25 · What is the mean and standard deviation of ? C. What value for î would result in an age estimate of 10,000 years? d. What value for î would result in an age estimate of 12,000 years? e. f. What is the probability that the age estimate is correct to within ±1000 years?
Expert Solution
trending now

Trending now

This is a popular solution!

steps

Step by step

Solved in 3 steps with 7 images

Blurred answer
Recommended textbooks for you
MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications
MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications
Statistics
ISBN:
9781119256830
Author:
Amos Gilat
Publisher:
John Wiley & Sons Inc
Probability and Statistics for Engineering and th…
Probability and Statistics for Engineering and th…
Statistics
ISBN:
9781305251809
Author:
Jay L. Devore
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Statistics for The Behavioral Sciences (MindTap C…
Statistics for The Behavioral Sciences (MindTap C…
Statistics
ISBN:
9781305504912
Author:
Frederick J Gravetter, Larry B. Wallnau
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Elementary Statistics: Picturing the World (7th E…
Elementary Statistics: Picturing the World (7th E…
Statistics
ISBN:
9780134683416
Author:
Ron Larson, Betsy Farber
Publisher:
PEARSON
The Basic Practice of Statistics
The Basic Practice of Statistics
Statistics
ISBN:
9781319042578
Author:
David S. Moore, William I. Notz, Michael A. Fligner
Publisher:
W. H. Freeman
Introduction to the Practice of Statistics
Introduction to the Practice of Statistics
Statistics
ISBN:
9781319013387
Author:
David S. Moore, George P. McCabe, Bruce A. Craig
Publisher:
W. H. Freeman