Radiometric Dating and Carbon-14

What is the primary purpose of radiometric dating?

• To measure the current radioactivity of an object.

• To determine the chemical composition of ancient artifacts.

• To ascertain the age of an object using the half-lives of radioactive nuclei.

• To identify the type of nuclear reactions occurring in a sample.

For what age range is carbon-14 dating considered accurate?

• Objects older than 100,000 years.

• Objects up to approximately 50,000 years old.

• Objects that are millions of years old.

• Only for objects that are currently living.

What happens to the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in an organism after it dies?

• The ratio remains constant as no new carbon is exchanged.

• The ratio increases as carbon-12 decays into carbon-14.

• The ratio decreases as carbon-14 undergoes beta emission to become nitrogen-14.

• The ratio fluctuates randomly due to environmental factors.

What is the approximate age of Earth, as determined by radiometric dating methods?

• 50,000 years old.

• 3.62 million years old.

• 4.5 billion years old.

• 4.6 billion years old.