Chapter 20, Problem 53E

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: The number of years the skull is old is to be determined.

Concept Introduction:

Different nuclides have different rates of radioactive decay.

The time in which any radioactive substance remained half of its quantity is known as half-life of that compound and represented by $t_{1/2}$.

Half-life of the isotope is calculated by the following formula:

$t_{1/2}=\frac{0.693}{k}$

Radioactive decay undergoes first-order kinetics.

$t=\frac{2.303}{\lambda }{\log }_{10}\left(\frac{A_0}{A}\right)$