A wooden artifact from an ancient tomb contains 35 percent of the carbon-14 that is present in living trees. How long ago, to the nearest year, was the artifact made? (The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years.)

Answer 1

To solve this problem, we can use the concept of half-life.

Since the artifact contains 35 percent of the carbon-14 present in living trees, it means that 65 percent of the carbon-14 has decayed.

The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years, which means that after 5730 years, half of the carbon-14 will decay.

So, if 65 percent of the carbon-14 has decayed, it means that the artifact is around 2 half-lives old.

5730 years * 2 = 11460 years

Therefore, the artifact was made approximately 11460 years ago to the nearest year.