Question

A branch from a bristlecone pine tree is found in a sedimentary layer, and its age is to be determined. The branch is a 5.0-gram piece of cellulose (C6H10O5: molar mass = 162 g/mole). This specimen is taken and placed between scintillation detectors, and over a 24-hour period 16,500 decays were recorded. How old is this branch? When the tree was living, carbon-14 accounted for 1 out of every 7.2x1011 atoms of carbon. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years.

Answer 1