You Are Given a Fossil and Told That Approximately 3

question 75

Multiple Choice

You are given a fossil and told that approximately 3% of the ¹⁴C originally in the sample is still there. How old is your sample? (Note that ¹⁴C has a half-life of 5730 years) .

• A)approximately 11,500 years
• B)approximately 17,000 years
• C)approximately 23,000 years
• D)approximately 29,000 years

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Definitions:

Aerobic Respiration

A metabolic process involving oxygen where cells convert nutrients into energy and produce carbon dioxide and water as waste products.

Carbon Dioxide

A colorless, odorless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration, exhaled as a waste product.

Ketone Bodies

Metabolic byproducts produced from the breakdown of fatty acids, used as an energy source when glucose is scarce.

Diabetes Mellitus

Metabolic disease in which carbohydrate use is reduced and that of lipid and protein enhanced; caused by a deficiency of insulin or an inability to respond to insulin and is characterized, in more severe cases, by hyperglycemia, glycosuria, water and electrolyte loss, ketoacidosis, and coma.