document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=1195957>Question 1195957</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> Hi please assist me with this question\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Radioactive carbon-14 is used to determine the age of artifacts because it concentrates in the <BR>\n" );
document.write( "organism only when they are alive. It has a half-life of 5730 years. In 1947, Dead Sea Scroll <BR>\n" );
document.write( "were found by one of the South Africa Universities professor. Analysis indicate that scroll<BR>\n" );
document.write( "wrapping contain s 76% of their original carbon -14. Estimate the age of the Dead Sea Scroll.<BR>\n" );
document.write( "[10 marks]<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #828602 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><B>greenestamps(13200)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/aboutme-small.gif BORDER=0 alt=\"About Me\" VALIGN=MIDDLE></A>&nbsp;<IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/cgi-bin/show-face.mpl?user=greenestamps><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=828602\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> <br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "The fraction of carbon-14 remaining after n half-lives is <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%281%2F2%29%5En ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%281%2F2%29%5En\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" >.  Use that formula to determine the number half-lives.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=%280.5%29%5En=0.76 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"%280.5%29%5En=0.76\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "The variable is in an exponent, so use logarithms.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=log%28%280.5%29%5En%29=log%280.76%29 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"log%28%280.5%29%5En%29=log%280.76%29\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=n%2Alog%280.5%29=log%280.76%29 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"n%2Alog%280.5%29=log%280.76%29\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=n=log%280.76%29%2Flog%280.5%29 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"n=log%280.76%29%2Flog%280.5%29\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" > = 0.396 to 3 decimal places<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Multiply the number of half-lives by the number of years in a half-life.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=0.396%285740%29=2269 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"0.396%285740%29=2269\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "ANSWER: The age of the Dead Sea Scrolls is about 2269 years.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Note that, as the problem says, this is an ESTIMATE of the age of the scrolls.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Radioactive decay is a statistical process; the rate of decay is not absolutely constant.  So any calculation of the age of an object using carbon-14 dating only gives an approximate answer.  So this is an example of a calculation where you do NOT want to keep a large number of decimal places in your calculations.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "I found one internet source that says if the age is between 1000 and 10,000 years the convention is to round the age to the nearest 10.  So the best answer to this problem is that the age is ABOUT 2270 years.<br><BR>\n" );
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