Carbon 14 Dating by Timothy Gubler

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Slide Notes

Carbon 14 Dating

Published on Nov 20, 2015

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

WHERE DOES CARBON 14 COME FROM

Cosmic rays from the sun hit atoms
An energetic neutron is knocked away
The neutron hits a nitrogen atom
Creating 1 Carbon14 atom and 1 hydrogen atom
Plants absorb c14 through photosynthesis

HOW CARBON DATING WORKS

Carbon 14 has a half life of about 5700 years
Guessing how much c14 was in the life form when it died
We can see how much it has now and with the half life calculate the age

HOLES IN CARBON DATING

Where do you get the starting amount of carbon 14
Assuming how old the earth is
Which backs up the assumption that c14 is at its equilibrium
So basically they are proving their guess with an assumption
And they prove that assumption with another assumption

Timothy Gubler