Radiocarbon dating works by comparing the three different isotopes of carbon. Isotopes of a particular element have the same number of protons in their nucleus, but different numbers of neutrons. While the lighter isotopes 12C and 13C are stable, the heaviest isotope 14C (radiocarbon) is radioactive.

What materials does radiocarbon dating work best on?

How Does Radiocarbon-14 Dating Work?Wood and charcoal.Seeds, spores and pollen.Bone, leather, hair, fur, horn and blood residue.Peat, mud and soil.Shells, coral and chitin.Pottery (where there is organic residue)Wall paintings (as they usually contain organic material such as crushed fruit and insects)More items

What does radioactive dating work best with?

Radioactive dating is a method of dating rocks and minerals using radioactive isotopes. This method is useful for igneous and metamorphic rocks, which cannot be dated by the stratigraphic correlation method used for sedimentary rocks.

On what kind of items would you use carbon dating?

Carbon dating is used by archeologists to date trees, plants, and animal remains; as well as human artifacts made from wood and leather; because these items are generally younger than 50,000 years.

Why cant carbon-14 dating be used on dinosaur remains choose the best answer?

To determine the age of a dinosaur fossil, carbon dating can never be used. By the time a dinosaur fossil was found, any carbon-14 the organism would have taken up and incorporated into its tissues during its life, would have decayed too much to be useful as a tool to determine its age.