Present-Day Plant Life Has a Carbon-14 Decay Rate of 16

question 16

Multiple Choice

Present-day plant life has a carbon-14 decay rate of 16 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram of carbon. If a contemporary wooden chair were preserved for the next 3900 years, what ¹⁴C decay rate should be expected from the wood used to make the chair? (t_1/2 = 5730 yr)

• A) 26 dpm
• B) 12 dpm
• C) 11 dpm
• D) 10 dpm
• E) 8 dpm

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Definitions:

Lump Sum

A one-time payment made for a particular purpose, rather than recurring payments over time.

Future Value

The amount of money an investment is expected to grow to over a period of time when interest or dividends are reinvested.

Straight-Line Depreciation

A method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life in equal annual amounts.