A wooden artifact and a freshly cut tree are found to have Carbon-14 activities of and respectively. — Nuclear Chemistry and Radioactivity Chemistry Question
Question
A wooden artifact and a freshly cut tree are found to have Carbon-14 activities of $7.6\text{ min}^{-1}\text{g}^{-1}$ and $15.2\text{ min}^{-1}\text{g}^{-1}$ respectively. Given that the half-life of Carbon-14 is $5760\text{ years}$, what is the approximate age of the wooden artifact?
Answer: B
💡 Solution & Explanation
The activity of the artifact ($7.6$) is exactly half that of the fresh wood ($15.2$). Since the activity has dropped to $1/2$ of its original value, exactly one half-life has elapsed. Therefore, the age of the artifact is $1 \times 5760\text{ years} = 5760\text{ years}$.
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