which statements about carbon - 14 dating are true? check all that apply. carbon - 14 decays into nitrogen…

which statements about carbon - 14 dating are true? check all that apply. carbon - 14 decays into nitrogen - 14. carbon - 14 has a longer half - life than potassium - 40. once a living thing dies, it no longer takes in carbon. carbon - 14 dating is used to date very old volcanic rock. carbon - 14 dating works for fossils as old as 50,000 years.

which statements about carbon - 14 dating are true? check all that apply. carbon - 14 decays into nitrogen - 14. carbon - 14 has a longer half - life than potassium - 40. once a living thing dies, it no longer takes in carbon. carbon - 14 dating is used to date very old volcanic rock. carbon - 14 dating works for fossils as old as 50,000 years.

Answer

Brief Explanations:

  • Carbon - 14 undergoes beta - decay to become nitrogen - 14. So the statement "Carbon - 14 decays into nitrogen - 14" is true.
  • Potassium - 40 has a much longer half - life (about 1.25 billion years) compared to carbon - 14 (about 5730 years), so "Carbon - 14 has a longer half - life than potassium - 40" is false.
  • Living organisms take in carbon during their life. Once they die, they stop taking in carbon, so "Once a living thing dies, it no longer takes in carbon" is true.
  • Carbon - 14 dating is used for organic materials, not volcanic rock (potassium - argon dating is more suitable for volcanic rock), so "Carbon - 14 dating is used to date very old volcanic rock" is false.
  • Carbon - 14 dating is effective for fossils up to about 50,000 - 60,000 years old, so "Carbon - 14 dating works for fossils as old as 50,000 years" is true.

Answer:

  • Carbon - 14 decays into nitrogen - 14.
  • Once a living thing dies, it no longer takes in carbon.
  • Carbon - 14 dating works for fossils as old as 50,000 years.