# Additional information needed carbon 14 dating

### Additional information needed carbon 14 dating

As you learned in the previous page, carbon dating uses the half-life of Carbon-14 to find the approximate age of certain objects that are 40,000 years old or younger.

Suppose we have a preserved plant and that the plant, at the time it died, contained 10 micrograms of Carbon 14 (one microgram is equal to one millionth of a gram).To measure the amount of radiocarbon left in a artifact, scientists burn a small piece to convert it into carbon dioxide gas.Radiation counters are used to detect the electrons given off by decaying Carbon-14 as it turns into nitrogen.The task can be taken further although the numbers become more and more complex.In order to estimate when there is one microgram of Carbon 14 remaining in the preserved plant to the nearest $\frac$ years, the method of part (d) can be employed again, this time over the interval from 190$years to 055$ years.Age determinations can also be obtained from carbonate deposits such as calcite, dissolved carbon dioxide, and carbonates in ocean, lake, and groundwater sources.

Cosmic rays enter the earth's atmosphere in large numbers every day and when one collides with an atom in the atmosphere, it can create a secondary cosmic ray in the form of an energetic neutron.

By measuring the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in the sample and comparing it to the ratio in a living organism, it is possible to determine the age of the artifact.

Carbon 14 is a common form of carbon which decays exponentially over time.

Ninety-nine percent of these also contain six neutrons.

The 6 proton 6 neutron atoms are said to have a mass of 12 and are referred to as "carbon-12." The nuclei of the remaining one percent of carbon atoms contain not six but either seven or eight neutrons in addition to the standard six protons.

Radiocarbon dating is a method of estimating the age of organic material.