Question: Dinosaur fossils are often dated by using an element other than carbon, such as potassium-40, that has a longer half-life (in this case, approximately 1.25
Dinosaur fossils are often dated by using an element other than carbon, such as potassium-40, that has a longer half-life (in this case, approximately 1.25 billion years). Suppose the minimum detectable amount is 0.1% and a dinosaur is dated with 40K to be 68 million years old. Is such a dating possible? In other words, what is the maximum age of a fossil that we could date using 40K?
Step by Step Solution
3.45 Rating (168 Votes )
There are 3 Steps involved in it
Let t measure time since a dinosaur died in millions of years and let yt be the amou... View full answer
Get step-by-step solutions from verified subject matter experts
