AnswersGA-GSE Physical Science ARadioactivityQuestion 5
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Radioactivity

Question 5 • GA-GSE Physical Science A

Carbon-14 is used to determine the time an organism was living. The amount of carbon-14 an organism has is constant with the atmosphere, but when an organism dies the carbon-14 decays at a half-life of 5,730 years. If an archeologist measured the amount of carbon-14 in an organism and it was 25% of the total amount of atmospheric C-14, what is the age of the organism?

Answer
A
1432.5 years
B
5,730 years
C
11,460 years
D
17,190 years

Explanation

After one half-life of 5,730 years, the organism has 50% of its original carbon-14. After a second half-life, it has half of that amount, or 25%. Therefore, two half-lives have passed: 2 × 5,730 = 11,460 years. The correct choice is 11,460 years.

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