About how many half-lives will occur in 50,000 years? Roughly what fraction will be left? How does this compare with the answer of Exercise 45?
The amount of carbon-14 (14c) left t years after the death of an organism is given by
Q(t) = Q0e-0.000122t
where Q0 is the amount left at the time of death. Suppose Q0 = 6.0 x 1010 14c atoms.