One gram of the carbon in modern wood charcoal displays an activity of 15.3 disintegrations per minute. If the half-life of the ¹⁴C is 5730 years, how many ¹⁴C atoms are there in 1.00 g of charcoal?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The activity (A) is related to the number of atoms (N) by the equation A = λN, where λ is the decay constant. λ can be calculated using the half-life (T₁/₂) with λ = ln(2)/T₁/₂. Using the given activity and half-life, solve for N.

One Gram of the Carbon in Modern Wood Charcoal Displays