The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730 years. Since the bone contains 1/8 of the carbon-14 found in living animals today, we can determine that 3 half-lives have passed.
3 half-lives would be equal to 5,730 years x 3 = 17,190 years.
Therefore, the bone is approximately 17,190 years old.
The answer is d) 17,190 years.
The graph shows the radioactive decay of a bone that is found to contain 1/8 of the carbon-14 found in living animals today.
Approximately how old is the bone?
a
5,730 years
b
11,460 years
c
22,920 years
d
17,190 years
1 answer
1 answer