What is the rate of decay, in counts per minute per gram, of carbon-14 in the sample?

Question

For a first order reaction the rate R = −k N so the ratio of rates at two different times is given by R(t1)/R(t2) = N(t1)/N(t2).

For nuclear decay the rate is ofen is expressed in units of counts per unit of time.


A chemists determines that a sample of petrified wood is 2.50 X 103 years old.

What is the rate of decay, in counts per minute per gram, of carbon-14 in the sample?

The decay rate of carbon-14 in wood today is 13.6 counts per minute per gram, and the half life of carbon-14 is 5730 years.


Enter a numeric answer only do not include units

Answer 1

10.2

Answer 2

Carbon 14 decays at a slow but steady rate and reverts to nitrogen 14. ... Modern C14 emits about 15 beta radiations per minute per gram of material, ...