Activity 2: What's My Age?
Objective: Determine the age of fossil
Direction: Use the information below to answer the age of fossils.
One-way scientists determine the age of fossils is by checking the amount of
radioactive carbon-14 in the fossil. Carbon-14 breaks down or decays to form nitrogen-
14; the rate of this decay is constante.g. half of the remaining Carbon-14 breaks down
every 5730 years. Use this information and compute the age of the fossils on the next
page.
Fossil
Comparison of Carbon-14
and Nitrogen-14 in sample
Age of fossil
In years
Cate 16
Nitro
ST30