The normal activity of living carbon-containing matter is found to be about 15 decays per minute for every gram of carbon. This activity arises from the small proportion of radioactive present with the stable carbon isotope . When the organism is dead, its interaction with the atmosphere (which maintains the above equilibrium activity) ceases and its activity begins to drop. From the known half-life (5730 years) of, and the measured activity, the age of the specimen can be approximately estimated. This is the principle of dating used in archaeology. Suppose a specimen from Mohenjodaro gives an activity of 9 decays per minute per gram of carbon. Estimate the approximate age of the Indus-Valley civilisation.

Asked by Nishant 14/10/2019 Last Modified 23/10/2019

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The normal activity of living carbon-containing matter is found to be about 15 decays per minute for every gram of carbon. This activity arises from the small proportion of radioactive present with the stable carbon isotope . When the organism is dead, its interaction with the atmosphere (which maintains the above equilibrium activity) ceases and its activity begins to drop. From the known half-life (5730 years) of, and the measured activity, the age of the specimen can be approximately estimated. This is the principle of dating used in archaeology. Suppose a specimen from Mohenjodaro gives an activity of 9 decays per minute per gram of carbon. Estimate the approximate age of the Indus-Valley civilisation.

Asked by Nishant 14/10/2019 Last Modified 23/10/2019

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Shivam Sharma · Accepted Answer

Decay rate of living carbon-containingmatter,R= 15 decay/min
Let N be the number of radioactive atoms present in a normal carbon- containing matter.
Half life of,= 5730 years
The decay rate of the specimen obtained from the Mohenjodaro site:
R' = 9decays/min
Let N' be the number of radioactive atoms present in the specimen during the Mohenjodaro period.
Therefore, we can relate the decay constant,&lambda;and time,tas:

Hence, the approximate age of the Indus-Valley civilisation is 4223.5 years.

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