This is dealing with C14 dating. Please show steps to solving.
2006-10-04 12:40:14 · 3 answers · asked by Brandi 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Here is the entire problem.
The radioative carbon-14 in an organism at the time of its' death decays according to the equation A=Aoe^-.000124t...where t is the time in years and Ao is the amount of carbon 14 present at the time t=0. Estimate the age of a skull uncovred in an archaeological site if 10% of the original amount of Carbon 14 is still present.
2006-10-04 12:54:53 · update #1
divide by Ao to move it to the other side
take the natural log of both sides. This will cancel out the 'e' and leave -.000124t. Then divide each side by -.000124 and 't' is now by itself
2006-10-04 12:44:10 · answer #1 · answered by Greg G 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Apply Ln to both sides.
You are left with Ln(A/A0) = - 0.000124 * t.
Now solve for t.
2006-10-04 12:47:07 · answer #2 · answered by Dr. J. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
divide both sides by Ao:
A / Ao = e^ -0.000124t
take the ln of both sides:
ln(A/Ao) = -0.000124t
divide both sides by -0.000124:
-8000 * ln(A/Ao) = t
2006-10-04 12:46:34 · answer #3 · answered by Duffman 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋