Try it yourself!

 

.1.

A piece of wood from an archaeological excavation has been found by Carbon-14 dating to give 5 counts per minute for every gram of carbon compared to 15 cpmg-1 of carbon in a sample of new wood taken from the same area.  If the half life of 14C is 5730 years how old is the wood?

  1. 4,478 million years
  2. 4.478 years
  3. 4,478 years
  4. 44.78 days

 

.2.

A petrified woman has been found in the Fens in Cambridgeshire, you suspect she comes from the Bronze Age and may be 4500 years old.  You use carbon dating to age her, if a modern day count is 10cpmg-1 then what count are you expecting for the woman?

  1. 58 cpmg-1
  2. 5.8 cpmg-1
  3. 3.8 cpmg-1
  4. 7.6cpmg-1

 

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