Question

Radioactive _______ is used for determining the age of fossil fuels.

Answer 1

• A radioactive substance is any substance that emits ionizing radiation.
• C-14 written as ${}_6{}^{14}\mathrm{C}$ is an isotope of a carbon atom having 6 protons and 8 neutrons.
• It is used in determining the age of fossil fuels.
• Isotopes- Atoms of an element having the same atomic number but a different mass number are known as isotopes.
• Atomic number(Z)- The total number of protons in the nucleus of an atom gives us the atomic number of that atom.
• Mass number(A)- The number of protons and neutrons combine to give us the mass number of an atom.
• This process of using C-14 for age determination of fossil fuels is known as radiocarbon dating.

Radioactive C-14 is used for determining the age of fossil fuels.