Question

Determine the age of the wooden cup. Should you use Carbon-14 or Uranium-238 and why?(1 point) Responses 1,000-1,040 years; Uranium-238; because wood was once living. 1,000-1,040 years; Uranium-238; because wood was once living. 700-750 Million Years; Carbon-14; because rock is a living stone. 700-750 Million Years; Carbon-14; because rock is a living stone. 1,000-1,040 years; Carbon-14; because wood was once living. 1,000-1,040 years; Carbon-14; because wood was once living. 700-750 Million Years; Uranium-238; because rock is non-living.

Answer 1

To determine the age of the wooden cup, you should use Carbon-14 dating.

Carbon-14 is suitable for dating organic materials (like wood) that were once part of living organisms. It has a relatively short half-life of about 5,730 years, making it effective for dating items that are up to about 50,000 years old.

On the other hand, Uranium-238 is primarily used to date much older geological samples, such as rocks and minerals, due to its much longer half-life of around 4.5 billion years. Since the cup is made of wood (an organic material), Carbon-14 is the appropriate method.

Based on the information provided, the best answer would be: 1,000-1,040 years; Carbon-14; because wood was once living.