We can use our our general model for exponential decay to calculate the amount of carbon at any given time using the equation, N (t) = N0e kt . Modeling the decay of 14C. Other radioactive isotopes are also used to date fossils.

What is the use of carbon dating method?

Radiocarbon dating is a method that provides objective age estimates for carbon-based materials that originated from living organisms. An age could be estimated by measuring the amount of carbon-14 present in the sample and comparing this against an internationally used reference standard.