Scientists have discovered a moon rock, and they determine that there is about 50% of uranium remaining. Use the reference diagram to determine the age of the moon rock. Explain your answer.

Answer 1

To determine the age of the moon rock based on the amount of uranium remaining, we can use the concept of radioactive decay. Uranium-238 decays into lead-206 with a half-life of about 4.468 billion years.

Given that the moon rock contains 50% uranium remaining, this means that half of the original uranium-238 has decayed into lead-206. This corresponds to one half-life of uranium-238. Therefore, the age of the moon rock can be calculated by multiplying the half-life (4.468 billion years) by the number of half-lives represented by the remaining uranium (1 half-life).

Age of the moon rock = 4.468 billion years x 1 = 4.468 billion years

Therefore, the age of the moon rock is approximately 4.468 billion years old.