A common issue in radiocarbon dating is the old wood problem.. This refers to
a. when old wood was scavenged and reused in a later context resulting in a date that does not reflect the time of the activity.
b. the age of the plant that produced the charcoal must be determined before the radiocarbon date can be calibrated.
c. only carbon samples from pieces of old wood can be used to procure an accurate date.
d. that samples taken from old wood must be identified and treated with special chemicals before radiocarbon dating can be performed.
e. volcanic ashes dating between 500,000 and several million years old.
Question 2
Which of the following is NOT true regarding potassium-argon and argon-argon dating methods?
a. The more argon-40 in a sample relative to potassium-40, the older the sample.
b. They are as precise as radiocarbon dating.
c. Their maximum age range is theoretically the age of the earth.
d. They are useful for dating the age of the formation of a particular layer of volcanic sediment.
e. They are based on the fact that radioactive isotopes decay at known rates.