Use this paragraph: The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,700 years. A certain sample of wood has 20 grams of carbon-14 when it is alive.

Question

How many grams of carbon will it have after 5,700 years?

(1 point)
Responses

40 grams
40 grams

10 grams
10 grams

2 grams
2 grams

5 grams

Answer 1

After 5,700 years, which is one half-life of carbon-14, the amount of carbon-14 in the sample will be halved. Since the sample originally has 20 grams of carbon-14, after one half-life, it will have:

\[ 20 \text{ grams} \div 2 = 10 \text{ grams} \]

Thus, the correct response is:

10 grams