Metamorphic rock shows that only 25% of its original potassium-40 remains. What is the minimum age of the rock? The half-life of K-40 is 1.3 billion years. billion years
Question
Metamorphic rock shows that only 25% of its original potassium-40 remains. What is the minimum age of the rock? The half-life of K-40 is 1.3 billion years. billion years
Solution
To calculate the minimum age of the rock, we need to understand how many half-lives have passed. A half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive isotopes in a sample to decay.
In this case, the half-life of potassium-40 (K-40) is 1.3 billion years.
- After one half-life (1.3 billion years), 50% of the original K-40 would remain.
- After two half-lives (2.6 billion years), 25% of the original K-40 would remain.
Since the rock shows that only 25% of its original K-40 remains, we can conclude that two half-lives have passed.
Therefore, the minimum age of the rock is 2.6 billion years.
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