Chapter 16, Problem 6TE

To determine

The reason of more carbon-14 being present in living bones than once living ancient bones of the same mass.

Answer to Problem 6TE

There is more carbon-14 in living bones than once living ancient bones of the same mass due to radio activity of carbon-14.

Explanation of Solution

Carbon 14 is the radiocarbon element which is formed by the cosmic ray collision in the top most part of the atmosphere.

It is known that carbon-14 is the radiocarbon and due to its radio activity it decays over time and time at a constant rate thereby depleting the body. Due to this radioactivity, the amount of carbon-14 keeps on decreasing with time.

Hence, there is more Carbon-14 in bones of living objects as compared to the dead one’s along the long ancient era.

Conclusion:

Therefore, there is more carbon-14 in living bones than once living ancient bones of the same mass due to radio activity of carbon-14 and continous depletion.