Scientists would likely avoid using radon-222 for dating a fossil. This is because radon-222 has a very short half-life of only 0.01 years (or about 10 days), which means it decays rapidly. As a result, it would not be effective for dating fossils that are many thousands or millions of years old, since it would have decayed away to a negligible amount long before reaching such ages. On the other hand, isotopes like carbon-14, potassium-40, and thorium-232 are more suitable for dating fossils, as they have longer half-lives and can remain detectable over significant time spans.
A characteristic feature of radioactive isotopes is their unique half-life, representing the duration required for half of the isotope to decay. The table presents the half-lives of four isotopes.
Isotope | Half-Life (Years)
carbon-14 | 5.7 x 10^3
potassium-40 | 1.3 x 10^9
radon-222 | 1.0 x 10^-2
thorium-232 | 1.4 x 10^10
Using this data, which isotope would scientists avoid using for dating a fossil?
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Scientists would avoid using radon-222 for dating a fossil.
1 answer