P4 - Radioactive Dating Flashcards
1
Q
What did the discovery of radioactivity and half life help scientists with?
A
The discovery of radioactivity and the idea of half life gave scientists their first opportunity to work out the age of some rocks and archaeological specimens.
2
Q
How can you determine the age of an object?
A
- By measuring the amount of a radioactive isotope left in a sample, and knowing its half life you can work out how long the thing has been around.
3
Q
What happens to the carbon 14 in organisms when they die?
A
When organisms die, they stop exchanging gases with the air outside, and the carbon 14 is trapped inside, and it gradually decays with a half life of 5730 years.
4
Q
What do Uranium isotopes decay to produce?
A
Uranium isotopes have very long half lives and decay via a series of short lived particles to produce stable isotopes of lead.
