The half-life of Carbon-14 is approximately 5,700 years.Using this information scientists have been able to determine the age of some artifacts left by humans.A scientist wants to know approximately how old a piece of wood was that she found on the floor in an old cave that had recently been discovered.She removed the wood (with permission) to her laboratory.Her wood sample contained 2 grams of Carbon-14.If the age of the wood was determined to be 22,800 years old, how much Carbon-14 originally existed in this piece of wood?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The amount of Carbon-14 remaining after 22,800 years is 2 grams. The half-life of Carbon-14 is 5,700 years, so after 22,800 years, there would be 2^4 = 16 grams of Carbon-14 remaining. Therefore, the original amount of Carbon-14 in the wood was 16 grams.

The Half-Life of Carbon-14 Is Approximately 5,700 Years