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Carbon 14 is useful for dating organic remains less than 60-70,000 years old. It is not useful for fossils as the vast majority are much older than that.

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Can radiocarbon dating be used to determine the age of dinosaur fossils?

No, radiocarbon dating cannot be used to determine the age of dinosaur fossils because the half-life of carbon-14 is too short for dating objects that are millions of years old. Instead, other dating methods like uranium-lead dating or potassium-argon dating are used for dating dinosaur fossils.


What can carbon dating be used to date?

Carbon dating can be used to date organic materials, such as wood, bones, shells, and charcoal. It is particularly useful for determining the age of archaeological artifacts and fossils that are up to about 50,000 years old.


Could scientists use carbon dating to determine the age of hominids?

Yes, scientists can use carbon dating to determine the age of hominid fossils. Carbon dating relies on measuring the amount of carbon-14 present in a sample to estimate its age. However, carbon dating is typically used on organic materials up to around 50,000 years old, so other dating methods may be necessary for older hominid fossils.


Which isotope is useful for dating wood and charcoal that is less than about 75000 years old?

Carbon-14 is the isotope commonly used for dating wood and charcoal less than about 75,000 years old. This isotope is useful because plants take in carbon-14 while they are alive, and it decays at a known rate after the plant dies, allowing for accurate dating.


Since radioactive isotopes decay at different rates how is radiocarbon dating of any value in determining how old a fossil is?

Different radioactive isotopes do decay at different rates, but radiocarbon dating is only concerned with one isotope- Carbon-14. Carbon-14 decays at a constant rate, so researchers can use it as a reliable indicator of the age of a fossil up to about 70,000 years. Older fossils require different methods to determine their age.

Related Questions

Carbon-14 is useful for dating fossils that are what?

Old


What radioactive carbon isotope is used in dating fossils?

Carbon-14.


Why is carbon 14 useful in radioactive dating and how does it help scientists determine the age of organic materials?

Carbon-14 is useful in radioactive dating because it decays at a predictable rate over time. By measuring the amount of carbon-14 remaining in organic materials, scientists can determine their age. This helps in dating ancient artifacts, fossils, and other organic materials.


How do scientists use Carbon-14 to date fossils?

Carbon-14 is in all living things and decays after it dies. It has a long half life (the time it takes for half a sample to decay into another element) and gives a good estimate as to how old something is. Carbon dating is only effective up to an approximate age of 70,000 years, and is only useful in dating organic matter. Since the vast majority of fossils are much older than this, carbon dating is not particularly useful in dating fossils, but is of great use in archaeology.


What makes carbon 14 so useful in carbon dating and how does it contribute to accurately determining the age of organic materials?

Carbon-14 is useful in carbon dating because it is a radioactive isotope that decays at a known rate over time. By measuring the amount of carbon-14 remaining in a sample, scientists can determine how long it has been since the organism died. This helps accurately determine the age of organic materials by providing a reliable method for dating archaeological artifacts and fossils.


How is carbon-14 dating used to determine the age of dinosaur fossils?

Carbon-14 dating is not used to determine the age of dinosaur fossils. Instead, scientists use other methods like radiometric dating, such as uranium-lead dating or potassium-argon dating, to estimate the age of dinosaur fossils. These methods rely on the decay of radioactive isotopes in the fossils to calculate their age.


Is carbon - 14 is an example of correlative dating?

Yes, carbon-14 dating is a form of radiometric dating that is used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring the decay of carbon-14 isotopes. It is commonly used in archaeology and paleontology to date artifacts and fossils.


What is the function of radioisotopes C-14?

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


Which isotopes is most useful for dating wood and charcoal?

carbon-14


What is a example of a radiochemical dating?

An example of radiochemical dating is carbon-14 dating, which is used to determine the age of organic materials. It measures the ratio of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope, to carbon-12 in a sample. As carbon-14 decays at a known rate (its half-life is about 5,730 years), scientists can estimate how long it has been since the organism died. This method is particularly useful for dating artifacts, fossils, and other biological remains up to about 50,000 years old.


What are two ways to date fossils?

Two ways to date fossils are relative dating, which involves determining the age of a fossil in relation to other fossils or geological layers, and absolute dating, which provides a numerical age for a fossil using techniques like radiometric dating.


Can radiocarbon dating be used to determine the age of dinosaur fossils?

No, radiocarbon dating cannot be used to determine the age of dinosaur fossils because the half-life of carbon-14 is too short for dating objects that are millions of years old. Instead, other dating methods like uranium-lead dating or potassium-argon dating are used for dating dinosaur fossils.