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Carbon Dating to determine the age of fossils

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Carbon Dating Introduction The most accurate method for determining the absolute age of fossils is based on the radioactive decay of certain elements within the fossil. During the radioactive decay ... process, the radioactive elements gradually become new elements by giving off energy and particles. Each radioactive element has a fixed rate at which it decays and the rate is expressed as its half-life the time it takes for half of its radioactive atoms to decay. The rate is normally constant and is not affected by external factors such as temperature or pressure. When a fossil contains a radioactive element, the decay process can be used to estimate the age of the fossil. Radioactivity occurs because some isotopes of a particular element may be unstable, having nuclear forces that cause it to decay spontaneously to more stable isotopes of the same or some other element. Background Information Willard Libby in the 1950s devised a method of using radioactive carbon as a means of determining the approximate age of fossils. This was based on the theory of carbon dating which is based on the fact that the isotope carbon-14 is produced in the atmosphere by the action of cosmic radiation on nitrogen. The ratio of the amount of C-14 to ordinary carbon in the atmosphere appears to be a constant and as a consequence the proportionate amount of the isotope present in all living organisms is the same as that in the atmosphere. When a living organism dies, the absorption of C-14 by either eating or breathing comes to an end. By comparing the proportionate amount of C-14 present in a fossil with the constant ratio found in the atmosphere, it is possible to obtain a reasonable estimation of its age. [Show More]

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