Problem

The amount of carbon-14 present in animal bones after t years is given by P(t)=P0e0.00012t. A bone has lost 36% of its carbon-14. How old is the bone?
The bone is about years old.
(Round to the nearest integer as needed.)

Answer

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Answer

Final Answer: The bone is approximately 3719 years old.

Steps

Step 1 :The problem is asking for the time t when the amount of carbon-14 in the bone is 64% of the original amount (since it has lost 36%). This can be represented by the equation 0.64P0=P0e0.00012t.

Step 2 :We can solve this equation for t by setting P0=1 and P=0.64.

Step 3 :Solving the equation gives t=3719.0591885701624.

Step 4 :Rounding to the nearest integer gives t=3719.

Step 5 :Final Answer: The bone is approximately 3719 years old.

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