​Carbon-14 (¹⁴C)dating Assumes That the Carbon on the Earth Today

question 147

Multiple Choice

​Carbon-14 (¹⁴C) dating assumes that the carbon on the Earth today has the same radioactive content as it did centuries ago.If this is true,then the amount of ¹⁴C absorbed by a tree that grew several centuries ago should be the same as the amount of ¹⁴C absorbed by a similar tree today.A piece of ancient charcoal contains only 24% as much of the radioactive carbon as a piece of modern charcoal.How long ago was the tree burned to make the ancient charcoal? (The half-life of ¹⁴C is 5715 years.) Round your answer to the nearest integer. ​

• A) ​2,776 years
• B) ​30,751 years
• C) ​2,781 years
• D) ​11,767 years
• E) ​11,772 years

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