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What limits the usefulness of radiocarbon dating in studying Earth’s history?

A.
the small supply of carbon in Earth’s crust

B.
the relatively short half-life of carbon-14, which is 5,730 years

C.
carbon’s presence in a wide variety of compounds

D.
the constant rate of radioactive decay of carbon-14

1 answer

The option that best limits the usefulness of radiocarbon dating in studying Earth's history is:

B. the relatively short half-life of carbon-14, which is 5,730 years.

Radiocarbon dating is effective for dating materials that are relatively young (up to about 50,000 years old) but becomes less reliable for dating older materials due to the decay of carbon-14 over time. After about 50,000 years, the amount of carbon-14 remaining is minimal, which makes accurate dating difficult.