Radiocarbon dating ;also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.

Discuss the isotopic property of C-14 that enables it to determine age of fossils.

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Participate individually with meaningful and original comments in the posted discussion topic. (See Academic Policies for information about plagiarism.) A minimum of 2 post(one original and one reply ) is required. Your posts should be written in your own words and should be about 100 to 150 words long.You must also post a minimum of one significant reply to classmate’s post that contribute to their learning. The reply should be a minimum of 100 words.Proper citation of sources used for your responses is expected.

Post:I have always wondered how we were able to determine the age of fossils that are found. Based on the information that was given In Chem of Life we are able to determine that age using Carbon Dating. C14 is naturally occurring and is constantly being replenished as an organism lives. When an organism is no longer alive, the C14 slowly converts to N14 which is called Beta Decay. An isotope is two forms of the same element that has the same amount of protons but C14 having an isotopic property ( Equal Number of protons but a difference in numbers of Neutrons) is the reason that Carbon Dating is possible. Because of this difference the decay rate is very slow. less than half of the beginning of C14 is converted into N14 in 5,730 years. C14 being isotopic does not change the chemical make up of the element but it does have a radioactive property to it.