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Suppose that the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in a piece of wood discovered in a cave is [tex] R = \frac{1}{8^{16}} [/tex]. Write an equation in terms of [tex] t [/tex] that can be used to determine the age of the piece of wood.

[tex]\[ (-8223) \frac{\ln \left(2^{-48}\right)}{\ln (e)}=t \][/tex]

(Note: The equation given seems incorrect or unclear. The decay constant for carbon-14 should be used in this context. Let's rewrite it for clarity and accuracy.)

Corrected Response:

Suppose that the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 in a piece of wood discovered in a cave is [tex] R = \frac{1}{8^{16}} [/tex]. Write an equation in terms of [tex] t [/tex] that can be used to determine the age of the piece of wood.

Given:
[tex]\[ R = \frac{1}{8^{16}} \][/tex]

We know that the decay of carbon-14 is given by:
[tex]\[ R = e^{-\lambda t} \][/tex]

where [tex] \lambda [/tex] is the decay constant for carbon-14.

Rewriting the equation in terms of [tex] t [/tex]:
[tex]\[ t = \frac{\ln(R)}{-\lambda} \][/tex]

Substitute [tex] R = \frac{1}{8^{16}} \]:
[tex]\[ t = \frac{\ln\left(\frac{1}{8^{16}}\right)}{-\lambda} \][/tex]

Given the relationship [tex] 8^{16} = 2^{48} \], we have:
[tex]\[ \ln\left(\frac{1}{8^{16}}\right) = \ln\left(2^{-48}\right) = -48 \ln(2) \][/tex]

Thus,
[tex]\[ t = \frac{-48 \ln(2)}{-\lambda} = \frac{48 \ln(2)}{\lambda} \][/tex]

So, the equation in terms of [tex] t [/tex] is:
[tex]\[ t = \frac{48 \ln(2)}{\lambda} \][/tex]

where [tex] \lambda [/tex] is the decay constant for carbon-14.

Sagot :

Let's break down and solve this problem step by step.

### Step 1: Understand the given information

Importantly, we know:
- The decay formula for carbon-14 is given by the relationship \( R = \left( \frac{1}{2} \right)^{\frac{t}{5730}} \), where \( R \) is the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12, \( t \) is the time in years, and 5730 years is the half-life of carbon-14.
- The ratio \( R = \frac{1}{8^{16}} \).

### Step 2: Setting up the equation
Given \( R = \left( \frac{1}{2} \right)^{\frac{t}{5730}} \) and \( R = \frac{1}{8^{16}} \), we equate the two expressions for \( R \):

[tex]\[ \left( \frac{1}{2} \right)^{\frac{t}{5730}} = \frac{1}{8^{16}} \][/tex]

### Step 3: Transform the right-hand side expression for simplicity
We rewrite \(\frac{1}{8^{16}}\) to match the left-hand side form:

[tex]\[ 8 = 2^3 \implies 8^{16} = (2^3)^{16} = 2^{48} \implies \frac{1}{8^{16}} = \frac{1}{2^{48}} = 2^{-48} \][/tex]

So the equation becomes:

[tex]\[ \left( \frac{1}{2} \right)^{\frac{t}{5730}} = 2^{-48} \][/tex]

### Step 4: Solve for \( t \) using logarithms
We take the natural logarithm (\(\ln\)) of both sides to solve for \( t \):

[tex]\[ \ln \left( \left( \frac{1}{2} \right)^{\frac{t}{5730}} \right) = \ln (2^{-48}) \][/tex]

Using the logarithm property \(\ln (a^b) = b \ln (a)\), we get:

[tex]\[ \frac{t}{5730} \ln \left( \frac{1}{2} \right) = \ln (2^{-48}) \][/tex]

Since \(\ln \left( \frac{1}{2} \right) = -\ln (2)\) and \(\ln (2^{-48}) = -48 \ln (2)\), the equation simplifies to:

[tex]\[ \frac{t}{5730} (-\ln (2)) = -48 \ln (2) \][/tex]

### Step 5: Isolate \( t \)
We can now solve for \( t \):

[tex]\[ t = \frac{-48 \ln (2) \cdot 5730}{-\ln (2)} \][/tex]

The \(\ln (2)\) cancels out:

[tex]\[ t = 48 \cdot 5730 \][/tex]

### Conclusion
Thus, the age \( t \) of the piece of wood is:

[tex]\[ t = 275040 \][/tex]

Rewriting this in the form given in the problem:

[tex]\[ t = (-8223) \frac{\ln \left(2^{-48}\right)}{\ln (e)} = 275040 \text{ years} \][/tex]

This completes our detailed step-by-step solution for determining the age of the piece of wood given the provided ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12.
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