Given the following information, how many years have passed since the rock was formed?

Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years. This means that only half the carbon-14 that was trapped in a rock when it formed will remain after 5,730 years. After another 5,730 years, only one-fourth of the original amount of carbon-14 will remain. A scientist finds a rock that contains one gram of carbon-14. The scientist estimates that the rock originally contained eight grams of carbon-14.

Answer 1

#17190# years

As the example indicated, by the second half-life, only 1/4 was left. Therefore, only one more half-life would reduce the amount to 1/8 of the original. Thus, a total of 3 half-lives went past, or #5730 xx 3 = 17190 years#

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Answer 2

Nova Adams

As an example, if the rock was formed in 1990 and the current year is 2024, the number of years since the rock was formed would be 2024 - 1990 = 34 years. This can be done by subtracting the formation year from the current year.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.