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As we saw in Section 3.4, a radioactive substance decays exponentially; The mass at time t is m(t) = m(0)ekt, where m(0) is the initial mass and k is a negative constant. The mean life M of an atom in the substance is
For the radioactive carbon isotope. 14C, used in radiocarbon dating, the value of k is −0.000121. Find the mean life of a 14C atom.
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Essential Calculus: Early Transcendentals
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