Carbon-14 Dating
How old do people assume rocks are?
"Millions of Years," based on carbon- 14 dating.
How is the rate of decay measured?
A suitable detector records the number of beta particles ejected from a measured quantity of carbon over a period of time. Since each beta particle represents one decayed carbon-14, we know how many carbon-14 atoms decay during a specific amount of time.
Where does radiocarbon continually form today?
At the earth' s upper atmosphere.
Why is radiocarbon decay considered a random process?
Because different carbon-14 atoms revert to nitrogen-14 at different times.
Carbon-14 useful for dating creatures that died in the past thousand years. Why?
Because it breaks down quickly.
Why is carbon- dating not accurate?
Because it can only yield dates of only "thousands of years" before it all breaks down.
The difference in the number of sand grains represents the number of carbon-14 that have decayed back to nitrogen -14 since the mammoth died.
Because we have measured the rate at which the sand Grain falls, we can then calculate how long it took those carbon-14 atoms to decay, which is how long ago the mammoth died.
Because the half-life of carbon-14 just 5,730 years, radiocarbon dating of materials containing carbon yields dates of only thousands of years, not the dates of over millions of years history provided by the Bible, God eyewitness account of history.
Conclusion: The bible is completely true.
How does radiocarbon form?
Cosmic rays from outer space are continually bombarding the upper atmosphere of the earth, producing fast- moving neutrons which collide with nitrogen atoms, converting them into radiocarbon atoms.
If carbon- 14 has formed at a constant rate for a very long time and continually mixed into the biosphere, then the level of carbon-14 should remain constant.
If the level is constant, living plants and animals should also maintain a constant carbon-14 level in them. The reason is that, as long as the organism is alive, it replaces any carbon molecule that has decayed it's nitrogen.
The standard way of expressing the decay rate is called the half-life.
It is defined as the time it takes half a given quantity of a radioactive element to decay.
What is radiocarbon dating limited to?
It is limited to dating things that contain the element carbon and were once alive(like fossils).
If we know what fraction of the carbon atoms are radioactive, we can also calculate how many radiocarbon atoms are in the lump of carbon.
Knowing the number of atoms that decayed in our sample over a month, we can calculate the radiocarbon decay rate.
How is carbon- 14 absorbed?
Plants absorb the carbon-14 during photosynthesis. When animals eat the plants, the carbon-14 enters their bodies. The carbon-14 in their bodies breaks down to nitrogen-14 and escapes at the same rate as new carbon-14 is added.
What is the most well- known of all the radio metric dating methods?
Radiocarbon dating
How does carbon through photosynthesis carbon dioxide enters plants, bringing radiocarbon into the food chain.
Radiocarbon then enters animals as they consume the plants. So we humans are radioactive because of trace amounts of radiocarbon in our bodies.
What causes radiocarbon atoms to be produced?
The atmosphere being 78% nitrogen.
What happens after radiocarbon forms?
The process of Beta decay happens. The nuclei of the carbon-14 atoms are unstable, so over time they progressively decay back into nuclei of stable nitrogen-14. A neutron breaks down to a proton and electron, and the electron is ejected.
For example, if we started with 2 million atoms of carbon-14 in our measured quantity of carbon, then the half- life of radiocarbon would be the time it takes for half, or 1 million, of those atoms to decay.
The radiocarbon half- life or decay rate has been determined at 5,730 years.
The dating method is similar to the principle behind and hourglass.
The sand grains that originally filled the top bowl represent the carbon-14 atoms in the living mammoth just before it died. It is assumed to be the same number of carbon-14 atoms as in elephants living today.
What happens after animals and plants Perish?
They no longer replace molecules damaged by radiocarbon decay. Instead the radio carbon atoms in their body, slowly DK away so the ratio carbon-14 Adams to regular carbon Adams will steadily decrease over time.
What are some of the other radioactive elements used to date rocks that are not being formed on earth?
Uranium, potassium, and rubidium.
How is carbon-14 depleted?
When an animal dies, the carbon-14 continues to break down to nitrogen-14 and escapes, while no new carbon-14 is added.
Is carbon dioxide with carbon-14 indistinguishable from normal carbon?
Yes
