Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 5,730 years. How much carbon-14 would remain in a sample that is 11,460 years old?

1 Answer
Feb 3, 2016

1/4

Explanation:

11460 = 2xx5730
11460 years is 2 half-lives.

By the first half-life, the amount of "C"14 would be half the original amount.
By the second half-life, the amount of "C"14 would have halved again, resulting in a quarter of the original amount of "C"14.