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βˆ™ 5mo ago

Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope that decays over time at a known rate. By measuring the amount of Carbon-14 remaining in a sample, scientists can calculate how long it has been since the organism died and estimate its age. This method is commonly used in dating organic materials up to about 50,000 years old.

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βˆ™ 6y ago

Basically carbon-14 is one isotope of Carbon that is naturally present in living things, but it unstable. So it emits a ball of two protons and two-neutrons to become carbon-12, which is a type of radioactive decay.

But measuring how much carbon-12 is in a formerly living thing compared to carbon-14 and doing some math with what is called a half-life you can date things to within a certain range.

Unfortunately it is not precise enough to date some really old things with much certainty, and it can only be used to date stuff that was once alive.

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βˆ™ 14y ago

Radiocarbon decay can only be used to determine the age of rock which contains fossilized animal or plant cells. Radiocarbon dating can only be used to determine the age of objects that were once alive and is of no use in dating geological formations that do not contain some remains of formerly living organisms or that are older than approx 60,000 years of age.

Carbon atoms are contained in most cells of all living things on Earth. Most carbon atoms (98.89 percent) are called carbon-12 because they have 6 neutrons and 6 protons in their nuclei. Most of the remaining atoms (1.11 percent) have 7 neutrons along with their 6 protons and are called carbon-13 atoms, but a very small quantity (called a trace amount) of carbon atoms have 8 neutrons and 6 protons. These and are called carbon-14 atoms.

Carbon-14 atoms are radioactive and are referred to as radiocarbon. They are unstable, and decay slowly by releasing electrons before evolving into nitrogen-14 atoms. A living organisms constantly absorbs carbon in its body systems by respiration and processing nutrients, and the amount of carbon-14 it contains remains fairly constant for as long as it lives. The carbon-14 decays without being replaced after the organism dies and half of the carbon-14 nuclei will disintegrate in about 5,730 years. The amount of carbon-14 that has disintegrated in a fossilized organism can be calculated and used for determining its age.

However due to the short half life of carbon-14, as stated previously it is only of use for dating objects that are less than 60,000 years old. This is a very small fraction of the 4.56 billion year history of Earth. As such other radiometric dating techniques are used on rocks older than this (one example being the Uranium-lead method).

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βˆ™ 14y ago

Carbon 14 is used in Carbon dating. It decays to Nitrogen 14 and has a half life of 5,730 years. Typically, Carbon 14 is used for fossil dating for fossils 100-30,000 years old, but older than that, Potassium 40 or Rubidium 87 are more effective.

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βˆ™ 12y ago

Carbon 14 is a naturally occurring isotope of carbon. Living organisms use it interchangeably with carbon 12. After death there is no more change - except that the carbon 14 slowly decays into carbon 12. By measuring the ratio between the two isotopes you can calculate how long its been since the organism died.

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βˆ™ 10y ago

If they have a long halflife, you can tell how much time has gone by since the element last has changed on earth

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βˆ™ 6y ago

Radiocarbon dating is used to appreciate how old are objects from organic origin; the time range is approx. 50 000 years.

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βˆ™ 3y ago

the bones of animals

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Q: How is carbon 14 used to determine the age of an object?
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Computers can determine the age of an object?

Computers can determine the age of an object through techniques like radiocarbon dating or thermoluminescence dating. These methods utilize the natural decay of radioactive isotopes or the accumulation of trapped electrons in minerals to estimate the age of organic or inorganic materials. It requires specialized equipment and careful analysis of data to accurately determine the age of an object.


How does carbon 14 find the age of an object?

Carbon-14 dating measures the amount of carbon-14 isotope in a sample. Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope that decays at a known rate over time. By comparing the amount of carbon-14 in a sample to the amount of stable carbon isotopes, scientists can calculate the age of the object.


What can carbon-14 dating be used on?

Carbon-14 dating is typically used to determine the age of organic materials up to about 50,000 years old. This method is commonly applied to archaeological artifacts, ancient bones, and plant remains to establish their age through measuring the decay of carbon-14 in the sample.


Does carbon dating use nuclear fusion?

No, carbon dating does not use nuclear fusion. Carbon dating is a method used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring the remaining levels of a radioactive isotope called carbon-14. This process involves the decay of carbon-14, not nuclear fusion.


How do scientists determine the age of an object using isotopes?

Scientists use the relative amount of stable and unstable isotopes in an object to determine its age.

Related questions

Which of the following terms describe the process that is used to determine the age of an object by measuring the amount of a certain radioisotope remaining in that object?

The general term is "radiometric dating. If the isotope is carbon, then it is "carbon dating"


Which of these is not used to determine the age of an object?

magnetometer


Can carbon dating tell how old the person is?

No, carbon dating cannot determine the age of a living person. Carbon dating is used to determine the age of organic materials such as fossils or artifacts by measuring the decay of carbon isotopes. It is not used for dating the age of living organisms.


Computers can determine the age of an object?

Computers can determine the age of an object through techniques like radiocarbon dating or thermoluminescence dating. These methods utilize the natural decay of radioactive isotopes or the accumulation of trapped electrons in minerals to estimate the age of organic or inorganic materials. It requires specialized equipment and careful analysis of data to accurately determine the age of an object.


A wooden object a prehistoric site has a carbon-14 activity?

The carbon-14 activity in the wooden object can be used to determine its age. Carbon-14 dating measures the decay of carbon-14 isotopes in organic material to estimate when the object was last alive and therefore when it was made. This dating method is commonly used in archaeology to establish the ages of ancient artifacts and sites.


What are the early method used to determine the age of the earth?

carbon dating


What is used to determine the absolute age of a sample?

Carbon dating. Google it


How is carbon 14 dating is used to determine the age of an artefact?

Carbon-14 dating is used to determine the age of organic artifacts by measuring the amount of radioactive carbon-14 present in the sample. By comparing the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in the artifact to the ratio in living organisms, scientists can estimate the age of the artifact based on the rate of carbon-14 decay.


How is the age of an object determined in radio carbon dating?

Carbon-14 breaks down into Carbon-12 at a measurable rate. All the Carbon-14 in an object is fixed once it is finished(or dead) and then it begins to decay. So to determine the age you need to know(or guess) what the ratio of 14 to 12 was to begin with and see how much Carbon-14 is degraded to get the age.


What to methods are used to determine the age of a rock or fossil?

There are two methods used to determine the age of a rock or fossil. The first is carbon dating and the second is radiometric dating.


What is used to determine the age of fossils?

Carbondating is the method often used to date fossils, and that involves both the elements Carbon-12 and Carbon-14.


With radiocarbon dating scientists compare an object and acirc and 128 and 153s carbon-14 levels with .?

Scientists compare an object's carbon-14 levels with the known decay rate of carbon-14 to estimate the object's age using radiocarbon dating. By measuring the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in the object, scientists can determine how long it has been since the organism died.