Question

Explain the method of radio- carbon dating to determine the age of plant and animal fossils

Answer 1

When an organism dies (whether plant or animal) its intake of carbon atoms ceases. The starting ratio of radiocarbon to stable carbon is locked in at that point. From then on, the ratio of radiocarbon to stable carbon will decrease, because the unstable radiocarbon atoms will slowly decay. After about 50,000 years, the radiocarbon concentration remaining is too small to be measured for the purpose of radiocarbon dating.

Radiocarbon dating works by precisely measuring the ratio of radiocarbon to stable carbon in a sample. This is done in one of three ways: 1. Gas Proportional Counting, 2. Liquid Scintillation Counting, and 3. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. The purpose in each of these methods is to determine the ratio of radiocarbon to stable carbon in the sample. From this measurement the age in radiocarbon years is calculated.