To radiocarbon date an organic material, a scientist can measure the ratio of remaining Carbon-14 to the unchanged Carbon-12 to see how long it has been since the materials source died. Advancing technology has allowed radiocarbon dating to become accurate to within just a few decades in many cases.

Is radioactive decay accurate?

The rate of isotope decay is very consistent, and is not effected by environmental changes like heat, temperature, and pressure. This makes radiometric dating quite reliable. Because carbon-14 decays relatively rapidly compared to other isotopes, it can only be used to date things that are less than 60,000 years old.

What is the decay rate of radiocarbon?

C => 14N + β A rate of 7 decays/gram/minute would indicate an age of one half-life, or 5730 years old. 3.5 decays/gram/minute of carbon would be produced by a sample 11,460 years old.