Half-life of \(C^{14}\) is around _____ years.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → 5700
The half-life of a radioactive isotope is the time in which half of its nuclei in a sample decay. For carbon-14 it is about 5730 years, that is, around 5700 years.
Living plants and animals keep taking in carbon-14 while they are alive; after death the carbon-14 left in the remains goes on decaying. Measuring how much is left tells their age, which is the basis of radiocarbon dating.