Question
A tree killed by being buried under volcanic ash was found to have a ratio of carbon-14 atoms to carbon-12 atoms of $4.8 \times 10^{-14}$. How long ago did the eruption occur?
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This is given as $1.2 \times 10^{-12}$. Show more…
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A tree killed by being buried under volcanic ash was found to have a ratio of carbon-14 atoms to carbon-12 atoms of 5.2 × 10^-14. The rate constant of the C-14 → C-12 decay is k = 1.21 × 10^-4 yr^-1 and the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 is 1.2 × 10^-12 in a contemporary sample. How long ago did the eruption occur in years?
A fossilized tree killed by a volcano was studied. It had 10.5 percent of the amount of carbon-14 found in a sample of the same size from a tree that is alive today. When did the volcanic eruption take place? (Hint: carbon dating)
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