Question

1. Carbon-14 atoms produced in the upper atmosphere combine with oxygen to yield 14CO2, which slowly diffuses into the lower atmosphere, where it mixes with ordinary 12CO2 and is taken-up by plants during photosynthesis. When these plants are eaten, carbon-14 enters the food chain and is ultimately distributed evenly throughout all living organisms – so an equilibrium is established between the amount of C-14 consumed by the organism and the amount that is lost through exhalation of CO2 and excretion. In other words, the amount of C-14 in a living organism remains constant over time. Of course, when the organism dies, it ceases to take-up carbon-14, which very slowly decays back to nitrogen14 through slow nuclear decay. Therefore, the older a dead thing is, the less C-14 it has. Write the balanced nuclear equation for the radioactive decay of C-14 to N-14. 3.

2. What is the name of the process by which 14C is converted to 14N in the previous problem?

Answer 1

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