You are given a ratio

Question

You are given a ratio of carbon atoms in a fossil. Use the information to estimate the age of the fossil. In living organic material, the ratio of radioactive carbon isotopes to the total number of carbon atoms is about 1 to 10^12. When organic material dies, its radioactive carbon isotopes begin to decay, with a half-life of about 5715 years. So, the ratio R of carbon isotopes to Carbon-14 atoms is modeled by R=10^-12(1/2)^t/5715, where t is the time (in years) and t=0 represents the time when the organic material died. (Round answers to one decimal place).

R = 0.17 * 10^-12 _________ yr

Answer 1

The last equation should be (if the R = 0.17)

0.17 = 10^-12(0.5)^t/5715

Now solve for t using logrithms.