An animal skeleton has a carbon-14 decay rate of 13.1 disintegrations per minute per gram of carbon. when did the animal die? (assume that living organisms have a carbon-14 decay rate of 15.3 disintegrations per minute per gram and that carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730yrs.)

1034 yrs

Explanation:

The equation to use in this question is:

t = -2.303/k log (A/A₀) where

A=    present number of disintegrations

A₀ =  intial number of disintegrations

k =  decay constant

The decay constant we will obtain it from the given hal-life:

k: 0.693/t₁/₂,        t₁/₂ = half-life   ⇒

k: 0.693 / 5730 y =  1.209 x 10⁻⁴ /y⁻¹

t = - 2.303 / 1.209 x 10⁻⁴ /y⁻¹ x log (13.1/15.3) =  1034 yrs

a mercury barometer is a device that uses the physical properties of mercury in a tube to measure barometric pressure. mercury barometers are used for : -

1. measurement of atmospheric pressure  

2. determining the altitude of a place

3. weather forecasting

4. calibration and checking of aneroid barometers

5. application in fluid mechanics

6. measurement of pressure in aircrafts

7. surface weather analysis

8. preparation of barographs

9. usage in physical sciences like physics, astronomy & chemistry

10. preparation of aircraft altimeters

characteristics of mercury barometer : -

1.used to define and measure atmospheric pressure.

2.on the average at sea level the column of mercury rises to a height of about 760 mm.

3.this quantity is equal to 1 atmosphere.

4.it is also known as standard atmospheric pressure.

5.a barometer in which the weight of a column of mercury in a glass tube with a sealed top is balanced against that of the atmosphere pressing on an exposed cistern of mercury at the base of the mercury column, the height of the column varying with atmospheric pressure.