Carbon-14 is naturally present on Earth at about 1.00×10-10 percent (1 atom in 1
ID: 801659 • Letter: C
Question
Carbon-14 is naturally present on Earth at about 1.00×10-10 percent (1 atom in 1012 atoms) of stable carbon. That means that of all the stable carbon on Earth, 1×10-10 percent is Carbon-14. Scientists estimate the age of the Earth at about 4.543 billion years. Assuming carbon was naturally incorporated into a hypothetical mineral at the time of formation of the Earth, and trapped there so no more carbon could be added or removed, how much (what percent) of the carbon in that mineral would still be Carbon-14 today? Assume that the hypothetical mineral in question has been unmodified, and that no new Carbon-14 was generated over time
Explanation / Answer
Half life of Carbon-14 = 5730 years
Total number of half lives = 4.543*10^9/5730
= 792845
Suppose, number of atoms present today is 1,
then amounts present at earth formation = 2^792845
Percentage of carbon in the form of c-14 1*100/2^792845
which is close to zero