Scientists agree that the age of the universe is about 4 billion years old, does the age of the rock referred in this problem support that? Why? Support your answer in at most 3 sentences.
Scientists agree that the age of the universe is about 4 billion years old, does the age of the rock referred in this problem support that? Why? Support your answer in at most 3 sentences.
Related questions
Question
Scientists agree that the age of the universe is about 4 billion years old, does the age of the rock referred in this problem support that? Why? Support your answer in at most 3 sentences.
Transcribed Image Text:Mass spectrometric analysis of potassium and argon atoms in a Moon rock sample
shows that the ratio of the number of (stable) argon (atomic mass=40) atoms present
to the number of (radioactive) potassium (atomic mass=40) atoms is 10.3. Assume
that all the argon atoms produced by the decay of potassium atoms, with a half-life of
1.25 EXP9 years. Assume that the initial number of potassium atoms were present at
the time the rock was formed by solidification from a molten form and for every
potassium atom that decays, an argon atom is produced.
Expert Solution
This question has been solved!
Explore an expertly crafted, step-by-step solution for a thorough understanding of key concepts.
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
