Different isotopes are useful in different dating processes. Suppose we wished to determine the age of an object which we suspect to be approximately 100 years old. An isotope with which of the following half-lives would be most appropriate for this project?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

An isotope with a half-life of 50 years would be most appropriate for dating an object that is approximately 100 years old. This is because the half-life of the isotope should be shorter than the age of the object in order to provide accurate dating. An isotope with a half-life of 5 years would decay too quickly to be useful, while half-lives of 500 years and 5,000 years would be more appropriate for dating much older objects.

Different Isotopes Are Useful in Different Dating Processes