(a) A sample is being dated by the radiocarbon technique. If the sample were uncontaminated, its activity would be 0.011 Bq per gram of carbon. Find the true age (in years) of the sample.

(b) Suppose the sample is contaminated, so that only 98.0% of its carbon is ancient carbon. The remaining 2.0% is fresh carbon, in the sense that the  it contains has not had any time to decay. Assuming that the lab technician is unaware of the contamination, what apparent age (in years) would be determined for the sample?

Transcribed Image Text:

14