Question

The half life of carbon 14 is 5730 years. If the original amount in a particular living organism is 20g and that found in a fossil is 0.01g, determine the actual age of the fossil.

Answer 1

Age of fossil = (5730 x ln(20/0.01))/ln(2)
= (5730 x 4.60517018598809)/0.693147180559945
= 801,945.9 years