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it is innacurate carbon dating gets in accurate after about 1,000 years

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Q: How does carbon 14 find the age of an object?
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Does carbon dating use nuclear fusion?

No, carbon dating does not use nuclear fusion. Carbon dating is a method used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring the remaining levels of a radioactive isotope called carbon-14. This process involves the decay of carbon-14, not nuclear fusion.


Method used to find the age of an organism using the decay of carbon-14?

The assumption is that organisms start out with a certain percentage of C-14 - which they get from the atmosphere. The C-14 in the atmosphere is replenished through radiations from outer space. Once the organism dies, it will no longer exchange carbon with the outside world - the percentage of C-14 will gradually decrease. If only half the C-14 is found - compared to a living organism - it is assumed that the organism was dead for one half-life of C-14 - about 5730 years. If one-quarter of the normal amount of C-14 is found, it is assumed that the organism was dead for two half-lives (2 x 5730 years), etc. For amounts in between, an exponential formula is used to relate the percentage of remaining C-14 with the age.


How do scientists determine the age of an object using isotopes?

Scientists use the relative amount of stable and unstable isotopes in an object to determine its age.


How is carbon-14 used to determine the age of an object?

Carbon-14 is an isotope of carbon, with carbon-12 being the primary isotope. Both exist in nature, used by plants, in a relatively stable ratio. Once the plant matter containing carbon-12 and carbon-14 dies, the equilibrium is no longer maintained. Carbon-12 is stable, but carbon-14 is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of 5730 years. By measuring the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12, we can estimate how long it has been since the object died.Unfortunately, its not straightforward, as the natural ratio has varied over the centuries due to various effects, including cosmic ray levels, magnetic field level, and climate. When scientists use radiocarbon dating, they compensate for this based on other observations that tell us what the ratio was over time.Carbon-14 is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere by the absorption of a thermal neutron (created by cosmic rays) by an ordinary Nitrogen-14 atom, producing Carbon-14 and a stray proton.In the atmosphere, it disperses sufficiently rapidly (a few decades perhaps), that there is not much delay between its production and the absorption by a plant. In the ocean, the picture is quite different, with dispersion times measured perhaps in centuries before its absorption by a shellfish say. So these biota are much more difficult to date by Carbon-14 methods.[In a laboratory we used Carbon-11 with a half-life of 20min for plant studies. This made for snappy transit between manufacture and experiment!]


The half life of carbon 14 is 5730 years If a 1g sample of old carbon is one eighth as radioactive as 1g of a current sample then the age is about?

17,200 Years

Related questions

What Is a way to calculate the age of an organic object by measuring the proportion of carbon 14 present?

This is known as 'carbon dating'. You can find out how it works from Wikipedia


What is the calculation of the age of an object by measuring the proportions of the radioactive isotopes or certain elements?

Carbon-14 dating is the measurement of an object's age by comparing the amount of carbon-14 to the amount of carbon-12 and carbon-13 present in the sample.


How is the age of an object determined in radio carbon dating?

Carbon-14 breaks down into Carbon-12 at a measurable rate. All the Carbon-14 in an object is fixed once it is finished(or dead) and then it begins to decay. So to determine the age you need to know(or guess) what the ratio of 14 to 12 was to begin with and see how much Carbon-14 is degraded to get the age.


How do scientists used carbon dating?

It involves determining the age of an ancient fossil or specimen by measuring its carbon-14 content. Carbon-14, or radiocarbon, is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope that forms when cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere strike nitrogen molecules, which then oxidize to become carbon dioxide.


What information is obtained from radioactive dating?

The age of an object that was once living.


What kind of radioactive elements is used for dating an object?

One with a half-life close to the age of the object


Can you carbon-14 an ancient piece of rock that was cave-man carved to find the age?

No, rock does not usually contain carbon in the first place so no Carbon-14 will be present.


What is the function of radioisotopes C-14?

Used in carbon dating that is to find the age of fossils.


In radiocarbon dating the carbon-14 levels in the object being dated are compared with?

In radiocarbon dating, the carbon-14 levels in the object being dated are compared with _____.


In radiocarbon dating the carbon-14 levels in the object being dated are compared with .?

In radiocarbon dating, the carbon-14 levels in the object being dated are compared with _____.


Is carbon-14 the only element that scientists use to find the absolute age of fossils?

Carbon 14 is not normally used to determine the age of fossils as it has such a short half-life. Most fossils found are well over 50,000 to 60,000 years old which is the maximum age at which Carbon 14 can be used. Potassium/Argon and Uranium/Lead are much more commonly used.


What radioactive element is best suited for determining the age of wooden tools used by prehistoric humans during the last ice age?

Some of the isotopes used for this purpose are uranium-238, uranium-235 and potassium-40. However often the dates are not determined directly from isotopes in the fossils themselves, but instead from isotopes in layers of volcanic rocks above and below the fossils and the age of the fossils are estimated between these two measured dates.