supposed to archaeologists find scrolls and claim that they are 3000 years old .tests indicate that the scrolls contain 80% of their original carbon-14.

Question

use the formula N(t)=N₀e^-0.00012t, determine if the archaeologist are correct.

Answer 1

The statement that "the scrolls contain 80% of their original carbon-14"

amounts to saying that

N(t)/N₀ = 0.8

Therefore

e^-0.00012t = 0.8

t = ln(0.8)/-0.00012 = 1859.5

So the answer is "no". The scroll is about 1859 years old.