Question

Cosmic ray bombardment of the atmosphere produces neutrons, which in turn react w/ nitrogen to produce radioactive carbon-14. Radioactive carbon-14 enters all living tissue through carbon dioxide. As long as it is alive, carbon-14 is maintained in the organism at a constant level. Once the organism dies, however, carbon-14 decays exponentially into carbon-12. By comparing the amount of carbon-14 to the amount of carbon-12 one can determine approximately how long ago the organism died. The half-life of carbon-14 is about 5730 years. Assume that the initial quantity of carbon-14 is 600 milligrams.

the exponential eqution is A=(t)600*(.5)^(t)

BUT

construct an exponential function describing the relationship between A & T where T is measured in years.

Round a to six decimal places.

The exponential function is A=C(a)^T where
C=____ and a=____

Answer 1

A(t)=600*(.5)^(t)
this function gives a half-life of one year. As t grows by 1, the remaining amount is multiplied by 1/2.

So, you want to adjust it so that the exponent grows by 1 as t changes by 5730.

Take a look at the section in your text...