How old is an artifact that contains 12.5 percent of its original carbon-14?
:
The generally accepted value for the half-life of Carbon-14 is 5730 yr
:
Let t = time for 12.5% of the artifact to remain
Let the initial amt = 1
:
12^(-t/5730) = .125
use nat logs
ln(2) = ln(.125)
=
= -3
t = -3 -5730
t = 17,190 yrs