Quiz about Radiometric Dating (CK)

Question 1

While analyzing the bodies of two ancient humans who were known to have lived at the same time, you discover one of the bodies has a slightly greater amount of carbon-14 still remaining.  Which conclusion should you draw?

Accepted Answer

The individual with more carbon-14 remaining probably ate more plants than the other.

Answer

Carbon-14 decays at different rates in different individuals.

Answer

The body with more carbon-14 remaining died earlier than the other individual.

Answer

All of these

Question 2

How does carbon-14 enter the food chain and end up in living organisms?

Accepted Answer

It is absorbed from the atmosphere by plants.

Answer

It forms spontaneously in living organisms.

Answer

It is inhaled by organisms and incorporated in their bodies.

Answer

It forms inside living organisms from radioactive decay of heavier elements.

Question 3

The product of the radioactive decay of a parent isotope is know as a _____ isotope.

Accepted Answer

Daughter

Answer

Half-Life

Answer

Absolute

Answer

None of these

Question 4

Suppose most humans have 100 grams of carbon-14.  If you determine an ancient human had 25 grams left, how old is it?  (Carbon-14 half life is 5730 years)

Accepted Answer

11,460 years old

Answer

22,920 years old

Answer

5730 years old

Answer

17,190 years old.

Question 5

Carbon-14, carbon-13, and carbon-12 are example of different ______ of the same element.

Accepted Answer

isotopes

Answer

compounds

Answer

products

Answer

neutrons

Question 6

Every atom of carbon-14 in the atmosphere started out as which element?

Accepted Answer

nitrogen

Answer

hydrogen

Answer

oxygen

Answer

carbon

Question 7

Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting particles.

Accepted Answer

true

Answer

false

Question 8

A half life is the time it takes for half of the parent isotopes to change into daughter isotopes.

Accepted Answer

true

Answer

false

Question 9

During the process of radioactivity, high-energy particles are emitted by stable isotopes.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 10

A stable isotope that will undergo radioactive decay is known as a parent isotope.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 11

The half-life of carbon 14 is

Accepted Answer

5,730 years

Answer

6,745 years

Answer

3,567 years

Answer

unknown

Question 12

Which of the following decays to lead-207 with a half-life of 704 million years?

Accepted Answer

Uranium-235

Answer

Uranium-238

Answer

Potasium-40

Answer

None of these

Question 13

In potassium-argon dating

Accepted Answer

Potassium-40 decays to argon-40

Answer

The parent isotope has a half-life of 1.26 million years.

Answer

The technique can be used only in organic materials.

Answer

All of these

Question 14

The atoms of AA decay to atoms of BB with a half-life of 100,000 years.  If there are 20,000 atoms of AA to begin with, how long will it take to decay to 2,500 atoms of AA?

Accepted Answer

300,000 years

Answer

200,000 years

Answer

150,000 years

Answer

110,000 years

Question 15

Carbon dating measures when the organism died because only then does

Accepted Answer

Carbon-14 decay to nitrogen-14

Answer

Carbon-14 decay to carbon-12

Answer

Carbon-12 decay to carbon-14

Answer

None of these

Question 16

In potassium-argon dating method, Potassium-40 has a half-life of approximately:

Accepted Answer

1.3 billion years

Answer

2.6 billion years

Answer

3.8 billion years

Answer

unknown

Question 17

Radiometric dating uses radioactive isobars to get the absolute ages of rocks.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 18

The radiocarbon dating methods cannot be used to determine the age of materials older than 4,000 years.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 19

Potassium-argon and uranium-lead dating are useful for very young materials.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 20

Carbon-14 decays to carbon-12 with a half-life of 5,730 years.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

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