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Campbell Essential Biology (6th Edition) - standalone book
6th Edition
ISBN: 9780133917789
Author: Eric J. Simon, Jean L. Dickey, Jane B. Reece, Kelly A. Hogan
Publisher: PEARSON
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Textbook Question
Chapter 14, Problem 8SQ
A paleontologist estimates that when a particular rock formed, it contained 12 mg of the radioactive isotope potassium-40. The rock now contains 3 mg of potassium-40. The half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years. From this information, you can conclude that the rock is approximately _____ billion years old.
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Students have asked these similar questions
Radiometric dating does not measure the age of an individual atom. It is a measure of the age of a quantity of atoms—a statistic. As with any statistical measure, its values may deviate around an average (sampling error, Section 1.8). Imagine that one sample of rock is dated ten different ways. Nine of the tests yield an age close to 225,000 years. One test yields an age of 3.2 million years. Do the nine consistent results imply that the one that deviates is incorrect, or does the one odd result invalidate the nine that are consistent?
A fossil is found to contain the radioactive parent and daughter isotopes uranium 235U, and lead 207Pb, in the ratio 12.5% to 87.5%. Assuming that no 207Pb was present when the fossil first formed, estimate the age of this sample.Please show some thought process and a therefore statement. Thank you very much, have a great day!
A rock sample which originally contained 400 grams of radioactive isotope X now contains 25 grams of the
material. The half-life of isotope X is 10,000 years. How old is the rock sample? (Give your answer
without any punctuation or lables. For example: 15000).
Chapter 14 Solutions
Campbell Essential Biology (6th Edition) - standalone book
Ch. 14 - Distinguish between microevolution, speciation,...Ch. 14 - Prob. 2SQCh. 14 - Identify each of the following reproductive...Ch. 14 - Why is a small, isolated population more likely to...Ch. 14 - Many species of plants and animals adapted to...Ch. 14 - Mass extinctions a. cut the number of species to...Ch. 14 - Prob. 7SQCh. 14 - A paleontologist estimates that when a particular...Ch. 14 - Why are biologists careful to distinguish...Ch. 14 - In the three-domain system, which two domains...
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Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, biology and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.Similar questions
- Radiometric dating _______. has a substantial error factor can only be used for dating animal fossils can be used to date sedimentary rock, but not fossils is basedon the premise that each isotope decays at a constant rate is unpredictable because of changes in temperature and pressurearrow_forwardFact or theory? Organisms that look similar have been observed to have differences when preserved in rocks of different ages.arrow_forwardPlease answer allarrow_forward
- In radiometric dating, scientists use the half-life of a radioactive isotope, to determine the approximate age of rocks, and the fossils that are embedded in them. Half-life is the time it takes for half of a radioactive element to become stable.Uranium 238 (238U) is a radioactive element that decays into Lead (206Pb) after 4.5 billion years. 6) Scientists found a fossil in a layer of rock that tested as 1/8th U and 7/8th Pb. What is the approximate age of the fossil? A) 562 million years old B) 4.5 billion years old C) 9 billion years old D) 13.5 billion years old Not Gradedarrow_forwardIf the half-life of a radioisotope is 20,000 years, then a sample in which three-quarters of that radioisotope has decayed is _______ years old. a. 15,000 b. 26,667 c. 30,000 d. 40,000arrow_forwardTrue or false? Wrinkly textures in rock that formed from ancient biofilms living in marine sediments are considered trace fossils.arrow_forward
- A scientist has a fossil that was found in a layer of rock close to Earth’s surface. He believes that the fossil is around 12,000 years old. Which method would best allow the scientist to confirm the actual age of the fossil? finding another fossil in a deeper layer of rock finding another fossil in the same layer of rock using carbon/nitrogen absolute dating using potassium/argon absolute datingarrow_forwardDuring the Paleozoic, many life forms developed hard parts (shells/bones/etc.). Why would it be useful for organisms to have hard parts?arrow_forwardOne problem in radiocarbon dating of biological samples, especially very old ones, is that they can easily be contaminated with modern biological material during the measurement process. What effect would such contamination have on the estimated age? Why is such contamination a more serious problem for samples of older material than for samples of younger material?arrow_forward
- Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. In order to characterize the events that happened in this very long time scale, scientists have developed the geologic time scale. Here, the age of Earth is divided into (1), which in turn divided into (2), and are further subdivided into (3). The geologic time scale is so-called since the different subdivisions are based on the fossil record.arrow_forwardIf 1 meter equals 1 billion years and each millimeter is 1 million years, is 4.6 meters 4,600 million years ago (mya) or is it 4,600 bya? And if I measure it out on my timeline, isn’t 4.6 meters like 15 feet long?! Thanksarrow_forward(e) If you collected a sample of water being ejected from Saturn's moon, Enceladus, you could examine it for isotopic signatures of life. Explain why this might not be definitive and describe one other way in which you could test a sample of this water for biological material.arrow_forward
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