An ancient building was known to have been built 4000 years ago.Approximately what proportion of Carbon-14 atoms are still in the building's wooden framing compared to the number which were present at the time of its construction? (half life of ¹⁴C = 5730 years) A) 0.696 B) 0.616 C) 0.500 D) 0.425

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Using the half-life formula, we can calculate the fraction of Carbon-14 atoms remaining after 4000 years:
(1/2)^(4000/5730) = 0.383
Therefore, only 38.3% of the original Carbon-14 atoms are still present in the wooden framing. To find the proportion, we divide this by the original amount of Carbon-14, which will cancel out in the fraction:
0.383 / 0.62 = 0.616
So approximately 61.6% of the Carbon-14 atoms are still present, which is closest to choice B.

An Ancient Building Was Known to Have Been Built 4000