A Wooden Object from a Prehistoric Site Has a Carbon-14

question 23

Multiple Choice

A wooden object from a prehistoric site has a carbon-14 activity of 10 counts per minute (cpm) compared to 40 cpm for new wood. If carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years, what is the age of the wood?

• A)22,900 yr
• B)1430 yr
• C)17,200 yr
• D)5730 yr
• E)11,500 yr

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Definitions:

Hypotenuse

The longest side of a right-angled triangle, opposite the right angle, and determined by the square root of the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

Vectors

Quantities that have both magnitude and direction, represented by arrows in physics and mathematics.

Magnitude

Refers to the size or extent of something, often used in the context of numbers, earthquakes, and vectors to denote their strength or value.

Hypotenuse

The longest side of a right-angled triangle, opposite the right angle, calculated with the Pythagorean theorem.