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Suppose an archaeologist has recently unearthed a set of short-faced bear bone fragments and laboratory analysis found that the bone fragments have lost 87.1% of their original carbon-14 content. Determine the anproximate age of the bone fragments.

Suppose an archaeologist has recently unearthed a set of short-faced bear bone fragments and laboratory analysis found that the bone fragments have lost 87.1% of their original carbon-14 content. Determine the anproximate age of the bone fragments.

Chemistry
Chemistry
10th Edition
ISBN:9781305957404
Author:Steven S. Zumdahl, Susan A. Zumdahl, Donald J. DeCoste
Publisher:Steven S. Zumdahl, Susan A. Zumdahl, Donald J. DeCoste
Chapter1: Chemical Foundations
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1RQ: Define and explain the differences between the following terms. a. law and theory b. theory and...
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According to Wikipedia, Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in 1960. It is based on the fact that carbon- 14 is constantly being created in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting carbon-14 combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis; animals then acquire carbon-14 by eating the plants. When the animal or plant dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and thereafter the amount of carbon-14 it contains begins to decrease as the carbon-14 undergoes radioactive decay. Measuring the amount of carbon-14 in a sample from a dead plant or animal, such as a piece of wood or a fragment of bone, provides information that can be used to calculate when the animal or plant died. The older a sample is, the less carbon-14 there is to be detected, and because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, the oldest dates that can be reliably measured by this process date to around 50,000 years ago, although special preparation methods occasionally permit accurate analysis of older samples. Suppose an archaeologist has recently unearthed a set of short-faced bear bone fragments and laboratory analysis found that the bone fragments have lost 87.1% of their original carbon-14 content. Determine the approximate age of the bone fragments.
Transcribed Image Text:According to Wikipedia, Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in 1960. It is based on the fact that carbon- 14 is constantly being created in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting carbon-14 combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis; animals then acquire carbon-14 by eating the plants. When the animal or plant dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and thereafter the amount of carbon-14 it contains begins to decrease as the carbon-14 undergoes radioactive decay. Measuring the amount of carbon-14 in a sample from a dead plant or animal, such as a piece of wood or a fragment of bone, provides information that can be used to calculate when the animal or plant died. The older a sample is, the less carbon-14 there is to be detected, and because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, the oldest dates that can be reliably measured by this process date to around 50,000 years ago, although special preparation methods occasionally permit accurate analysis of older samples. Suppose an archaeologist has recently unearthed a set of short-faced bear bone fragments and laboratory analysis found that the bone fragments have lost 87.1% of their original carbon-14 content. Determine the approximate age of the bone fragments.
The method was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in 1960. It is based on the fact that carbon- 14 is constantly being created in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting carbon-14 combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis; animals then acquire carbon-14 by eating the plants. When the animal or plant dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and thereafter the amount of carbon-14 it contains begins to decrease as the carbon-14 undergoes radioactive decay. Measuring the amount of carbon-14 in a sample from a dead plant or animal, such as a piece of wood or a fragment of bone, provides information that can be used to calculate when the animal or plant died. The older a sample is, the less carbon-14 there is to be detected, and because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, the oldest dates that can be reliably measured by this process date to around 50,000 years ago, although special preparation methods occasionally permit accurate analysis of older samples. Suppose an archaeologist has recently unearthed a set of short-faced bear bone fragments and laboratory analysis found that the bone fragments have lost 87.1% of their original carbon-14 content. Determine the approximate age of the bone fragments. The bone fragments are approximately years old. Question Help: DVideo 1 Video 2
Transcribed Image Text:The method was developed in the late 1940s at the University of Chicago by Willard Libby, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in 1960. It is based on the fact that carbon- 14 is constantly being created in the atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric nitrogen. The resulting carbon-14 combines with atmospheric oxygen to form radioactive carbon dioxide, which is incorporated into plants by photosynthesis; animals then acquire carbon-14 by eating the plants. When the animal or plant dies, it stops exchanging carbon with its environment, and thereafter the amount of carbon-14 it contains begins to decrease as the carbon-14 undergoes radioactive decay. Measuring the amount of carbon-14 in a sample from a dead plant or animal, such as a piece of wood or a fragment of bone, provides information that can be used to calculate when the animal or plant died. The older a sample is, the less carbon-14 there is to be detected, and because the half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years, the oldest dates that can be reliably measured by this process date to around 50,000 years ago, although special preparation methods occasionally permit accurate analysis of older samples. Suppose an archaeologist has recently unearthed a set of short-faced bear bone fragments and laboratory analysis found that the bone fragments have lost 87.1% of their original carbon-14 content. Determine the approximate age of the bone fragments. The bone fragments are approximately years old. Question Help: DVideo 1 Video 2
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