SOLUTION: This is a carbon decay question that I haven't encounted yet. Can anyone give me a hand here? Thanks! According to the text, the half life in carbon-14 dating is 5700 years Que

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Question 63616: This is a carbon decay question that I haven't encounted yet. Can anyone give me a hand here? Thanks! According to the text, the half life in carbon-14 dating is 5700 years
Question:
Only 25% of the carbon-14 in a wooden bowl remains. How old is the bowl?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Answer by 303795(562) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The idea of half life is that after that time period only half of the original material remains. If you have 25% of the original material then that is half of one half of the original material or two half lives. With a half life of 5700 years for Carbon 14 then the bowl must be 2 x 5700 years old or 11400 years old.