Question

Use this paragraph: The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,700 years. A certain sample of wood has 20 grams of carbon-14 when it is alive.

How many grams of carbon will it have after 5,700 years?

Responses

10 grams
10 grams - not selected, this is the correct answer

2 grams
2 grams - no response given

40 grams
40 grams - no response given

5 grams

Answer 1

After 5,700 years, a sample of carbon-14 will have half of its original amount due to its half-life. Since the initial sample of wood contains 20 grams of carbon-14, after one half-life (5,700 years), it will have:

20 grams / 2 = 10 grams

So the correct answer is **10 grams**.