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This Accuracy of Carbon 14 Dating II lesson plan also includes:
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- Answer Key
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The scientific issue of carbon-14 dating and exponential decay gets a statistics-based treatment in this problem. The class starts with a basic investigation of carbon content, but then branches out to questions of accuracy and ranges of values. A great science-meets-math activity, where the context of the problem changes how the answer gets reported.
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CCSS:
Designed
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Instructional Ideas
- Link with a science unit on carbon dating of fossils or other prehistoric things
- Use as a review or application problem for inverse function pairs like exponential and log functions
- If the class has studied basic statistics, evaluate the error ranges in terms of standard deviations and p-values
Classroom Considerations
- Another method to solve Part b involves starting at a functional value of 10/2 = 5 and solving for t in terms of c. This might be more intuitive to pupils uncomfortable with inverse functions
- Learners without a strong physical science or statistics background might need more detailed explanation of giving a measured value as a range instead of a single value
Pros
- Real-life science application with numbers of actual magnitude and accuracy
- Provides opportunity for synthesis of inverse functions, interpretation of exponential decay, and developing meaningful answers in context
Cons
- Class worksheet not separated from teaching notes and answer key