HPSC HCS 2017 · Question 57 of 100

Why is radiocarbon dating not good for material more than 30,000 years old?

Science & Tech

ABecause all animals emitted radiocarbon before that time
BBecause radiocarbon was not present anywhere before that time
CBecause the amount of C14 becomes almost immeasurably small in 30,000 yearsCorrect
DBecause carbon extraction was not known before 30,000 years

Answer: C. Because the amount of C14 becomes almost immeasurably small in 30,000 years

Explanation

Radiocarbon dating fails beyond ~30,000-50,000 years because the remaining C-14 becomes almost immeasurably small. (The OCR'd provisional key reads (d); see sourceNote.)

Source: Question text: HPSC HCS (Ex.Br.) Prelims GS Paper-I held 31-Mar-2019 (Drishti IAS official-paper transcription; cross-checked with Abhimanu IAS Set-D solved paper). Answers: official HPSC Series-D answer key.

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