Carbon-14 dating
 Radioisotope dating
 The Biblical age of the earth
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Fundamental unit of matter
Made up of components called subatomic
particles
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Proton (positive charge)
Neutron (no electrical charge)
Electron (negative charge)
Nucleus
Electron
Carbon has unique properties that are
essential for life on earth.
 Familiar to us as:
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1.
2.
3.
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the black substance in charred wood,
as diamonds,
and the graphite in ‘lead’ pencils,
also
carbon comes in several forms, or isotopes.
 One rare form has atoms that are 14 times
as heavy as hydrogen atoms:
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Carbon-14 is also referred to as:
C-14
Carbon-14
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14
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C
Radiocarbon
 Types
of carbon (isotopes)
Atomic mass
9
14
16
6
6
6
Atomic number
Atomic Mass
The atomic mass (ma) is the mass of
an atom at rest, most often
expressed in unified atomic mass
units.
 The atomic mass may be considered
to be the total mass of protons,
neutrons and electrons in a single
atom (when the atom is motionless).
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Atomic Number
The atomic number (also known as the
proton number) is the number of protons
found in the nucleus of an atom.
 It is traditionally represented by the
symbol Z.
 The atomic number uniquely identifies a
chemical element.
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In an atom of neutral charge, the number
of electrons also equals the atomic number.
 The atomic number is closely related to the
mass number, which is the number of
protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an
atom.
 The mass number defines the isotope of the
element and often comes after the name of
the element, e.g. carbon-14 (used in carbon
dating).
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The nucleus of an atom changes into a
new element
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The proton number (atomic number)
must change
A neutron changes into a proton
14
14
6
7
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Carbon-14 is made when cosmic rays knock
neutrons out of atomic nuclei in the upper
atmosphere.
These displaced neutrons, now moving fast, hit
ordinary nitrogen (14N) at lower altitudes,
converting it into 14C.
Unlike common carbon (12C), 14C is unstable
and slowly decays, changing it back to nitrogen
and releasing energy.
This instability makes it radioactive.
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Ordinary carbon (12C) is found in the carbon
dioxide (CO2) in the air, which is taken up by
plants, which in turn are eaten by animals.
So a bone, or a leaf or a tree, or even a piece of
wooden furniture, contains carbon.
When the 14C has been formed, like ordinary
carbon (12C), it combines with oxygen to give
carbon dioxide (14CO2), and so it also gets
cycled through the cells of plants and animals.
Cosmic Rays
(radiation)
Forms C-14
Collision with
atmosphere (N14)
C-14 combines with
oxygen to form
carbon dioxide (CO2)
We can take a sample of air, count how
many 12C atoms there are for every 14C
atom, and calculate the 14C/12C ratio.
 Because 14C is so well mixed up with 12C,
we expect to find that this ratio is the same
if we sample a leaf from a tree, or a part of
your body.
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Once a plant or animal dies the clock starts
 The plant or animal no longer takes in C-14
 The C-14 present in the plant or animal
begins to decay
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No more
C-14 intake
C-14 continues
to decay
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In living things, although 14C atoms are
constantly changing back to 14N, they are still
exchanging carbon with their surroundings, so
the mixture remains about the same as in the
atmosphere.
However, as soon as a plant or animal dies, the
14C atoms which decay are no longer replaced,
so the amount of 14C in that once-living thing
decreases as time goes on.
In other words, the 14C/12C ratio gets smaller.
So, we have a ‘clock’ which starts ticking
the moment something dies.
 Obviously, this works only for things which
were once living.
 It cannot be used to date volcanic rocks, for
example.
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The rate of decay of 14C is such that half of
an amount will convert back to 14N in
5,730 years (plus or minus 40 years).
 This is the ‘half-life.’
 So, in two half-lives, or 11,460 years, only
one-quarter will be left.
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Cosmic radiation
14
14
14
7
6
7
5,730 year half-life
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Thus, if the amount of 14C relative to 12C in a
sample is one-quarter of that in living organisms
at present, then it has a theoretical age of 11,460
years.
Anything over about 50,000 years old, should
theoretically have no detectable 14C left.
That is why radiocarbon dating cannot give
millions of years.
In fact, if a sample contains 14C, it is good
evidence that it is not millions of years old.
However, things are not quite so simple.
 First, plants discriminate against carbon
dioxide containing 14C.
 That is, they take up less than would be
expected and so they test older than they
really are.
 Furthermore, different types of plants
discriminate differently.
 This also has to be corrected for.
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Second, the ratio of 14C/12C in the atmosphere
has not been constant—for example, it was
higher before the industrial era when the
massive burning of fossil fuels released a lot of
carbon dioxide that was depleted in 14C.
This would make things which died at that time
appear older in terms of carbon dating.
Then there was a rise in 14CO2 with the advent
of atmospheric testing of atomic bombs in the
1950s.
This would make things carbon-dated from that
time appear younger than their true age.
Measurement of 14C in historically dated
objects (e.g., seeds in the graves of
historically dated tombs) enables the level
of 14C in the atmosphere at that time to be
estimated, and so partial calibration of the
‘clock’ is possible.
 Accordingly, carbon dating carefully
applied to items from historical times can
be useful.
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However, even with such historical
calibration, archaeologists do not regard
14C dates as absolute because of frequent
anomalies.
 They rely more on dating methods that link
into historical records.
 Outside the range of recorded history,
calibration of the 14C clock is not possible.
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Used only on organic material
 Cannot be used to date rocks
 Maximum age limit about 60,000
years
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The C-14 dating method relies on
measuring the amount of C-14 in the fossil
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If there is a lot of C-14 remaining in the fossil,
we assume it has not been dead very long
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If there is very little C-14 remaining in the
fossil we assume most of it has decayed and the
animal lived a long time ago (i.e. 30,000 or
more years)
We need to know two things
1. How fast C-14 decays (measured in halflives - this is known: 5,730 years)
2. The starting amount of C-14 in the fossil
We know number 1
How can we know how much C-14 was in an
organism 5,000 years ago?
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The dating method relies on measuring
the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in
the sample
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The ratio today in the atmosphere is
1-trillion to 1
Amount of
stable C-12
Amount of
unstable C-14
Ratio
Years
Dead
# Half-lives
100 Trillion
100
1-T to 1
0
0
100 Trillion
50
2-T to 1
5,730
1
100 Trillion
25
4-T to 1
11,460
2
100 Trillion
12.5
8-T to 1
17,190
3
100 Trillion
6
16-T to 1
22,920
4
100 Trillion
3
32-T to 1
28,650
5
Are there any assumptions in this process?
Has the ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the
atmosphere always been the same?
If YES, then the C-14 dating is valid for up
to 60,000 years
If NO, then we have no valid way of knowing the
starting amount of C-14 and dates will be invalid
30,000 years to reach equilibrium
Richard, Milton, Shattering the Myths of Darwinism,
1997, p. 32. (W. F. Libby, Radiocarbon Dating, 1955)
“He found a considerable discrepancy in his
measurements indicating that, apparently,
radiocarbon was being created in the
atmosphere somewhere around 25 percent
faster than it was becoming extinct. Since this
result was inexplicable by any conventional
scientific means, Libby put the discrepancy
down to experimental error.”
“During the 1960s, Libby’s experiments
were repeated by chemists… The new
experiments, though, revealed that the
discrepancy observed by Libby was not
merely an experimental error – it did
exist.”
Richard, Milton, Shattering the Myths of Darwinism,
1997, p. 32.
Richard Lingenfelter, “Production of C-14 by cosmic
ray neutrons”, Review of Geophysics, 1963, p.51.
“There is strong indication, despite the
large errors, that the present natural
production rate exceeds the natural
decay rate by as much as 25 percent.”
Walter Brown (Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering and
Professor of Physics), In the Beginning, 2001, p. 245.
“The new atomic accelerator technique has
consistently detected at least small amounts of
carbon-14 in every specimen – even materials
that evolutionists claim are millions of years
old, such as coal…
In one study of eleven sets of ancient human
bones, all were dated at about 5,000
radiocarbon years or less.”
The amount of cosmic rays penetrating the
earth’s atmosphere affects the amount of
14C produced and therefore dating the
system.
 The amount of cosmic rays reaching the
earth varies with the sun’s activity, and
with the earth's passage through magnetic
clouds as the solar system travels around
the Milky Way galaxy.
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A stronger magnetic field deflects more
cosmic rays away from the earth.
 Overall, the energy of the earth’s magnetic
field has been decreasing, so more 14C is
being produced now, than in the past.
 This will make old things look older than
they really are.
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Also, the Genesis flood would have greatly upset the
carbon balance.
The flood buried a huge amount of carbon, which
became coal, oil, etc., lowering the total 12C in the
biosphere (including the atmosphere—plants regrowing
after the flood absorb CO2, which is not replaced by the
decay of the buried vegetation).
Total 14C is also proportionately lowered at this time,
but whereas no terrestrial process generates any more
12C, 14C is continually being produced, and at a rate
which does not depend on carbon levels (it comes from
nitrogen).
Therefore, the 14C/12C ratio in
plants/animals/the atmosphere before the
flood had to be lower than what it is now.
 Unless this effect (which is additional to the
magnetic field issue just discussed) were
corrected for, carbon dating of fossils
formed in the flood would give ages much
older than the true ages.
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The
key assumption has been shown to be false
(equilibrium)
Carbon-14
dating is a reliable dating method for
less than 3,000 years and not the claimed 60,000
found in many textbooks
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Carbon-14 dating is based on an assumption
What are they and how do they operate?
What is the basic perception?
How accurate are they?
Are there any hidden assumptions?
Biology: Visualizing Life, Holt, Rinehart, Winston,
1998, p.177.
“Using radioactive dating, scientists
have determined that the Earth is
about 4.5 billion years old, ancient
enough for all species to have been
formed through evolution.”
National Association of Biology Teachers
(NABT), 1995 Position Statements.
“Radiometric and other dating
techniques, when used properly, are
highly accurate means of establishing
dates in the history of the planet and
in the history of life.”
There are various other radiometric dating
methods used today to give ages of millions
or billions of years for rocks.
 These techniques, unlike carbon dating,
mostly use the relative concentrations of
parent and daughter products in
radioactive decay chains.
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Understanding Assumptions
For example, potassium-40 decays to argon-40;
uranium-238 decays to lead-206 via other
elements like radium; uranium-235 decays to
lead-207
Uranium
Decay
Lead
Potassium
Decay
Argon
The isotope concentrations can be
measured very accurately, but isotope
concentrations are not dates.
 To derive ages from such measurements,
unprovable assumptions have to be made
such as:
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1.
2.
3.
The starting conditions are known (for
example, that there was no daughter
isotope present at the start, or that we
know how much was there).
Decay rates have always been constant.
Systems were closed or isolated so that no
parent or daughter isotopes were lost or
added.
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These techniques are applied to igneous
rocks, and are normally seen as giving the
time since solidification.
Can you calculate how long you were outside?
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Sunset Crater, Northern Arizona
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Lava flows at Mt. Ngaurhoe, New Zealand
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Potassium-argon: 275,000
Reality: 1949, 1954, 1975
Hualalai basalt, Hawaii
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Potassium-argon: 200,000+
Reality: AD 1065
Potassium-argon: 1.4 – 22 million
Reality: AD 1801
Mt. Etna basalt, Sicily
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Potassium-argon: 140,000 – 350,000
Reality: 1972
Diamonds from Zaire: 6 billion years old!
 Mount St. Helens rocks 300,000 years old!
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 Assumption
of starting amounts
of elements
 Assumption of steady decay rate
 Assumption of a closed system
If you base your theory on a wrong
assumption, all your work can be correct,
but the result will be wrong.
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Rapid disintegration of comets
Sediment on the ocean floor
Decay of the Earth’s magnetic field
Carbon-14 ratio in the atmosphere
Helium in the Earth’s atmosphere
Radiohalos for polonium in granites
Population statistics
Recession of the moon
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Literal 6-day creation
Gap theory
Day-Age Theory
Progressive creation
Which one is correct?
How can we know?
Charles Taylor (Ph.D. Linguistics/emphasis on Old
Testament Hebrew), “Linguistics, Genesis and
Evolution”, 1981.
“Contrary to what people think it’s not
impossible to know. Genesis chapter 1 was
written in the Hebrew language which is
consistent in using one structure for narrative
and quite a different one for poetry.”
Are the days of creation literal days?
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Meaning of ‘Yom’
Yom with a number
Evening and morning
Genesis 1:14
Exodus 20:11
Words used to indicate time
Narrative versus poetry (VSO or SVO)
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In the beginning created God the heavens… = VSO
Genealogies (Gen 5, 1Chron 1, Luke 3)
Professor James Barr, Professor of Hebrew at the
University of Oxford.
“Probably so far as I know, there is no professor
of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class
university who dares not believe that the
writer(s) of Gen. 1-11 intended to convey to
their readers the ideas that creation took place
in a series of six days which are the same as the
days of 24 hours we now experience…”
Dr. Robert Cole (Ph.D. Semitic Languages), “A PhD
looks at the Genesis Days”
“There is nothing in the Bible to obviate
the idea that the days in Genesis were 24
hour type days.”
Charles Taylor (Ph.D. Linguistics/emphasis on Old
Testament Hebrew), “Linguistics, Genesis and
Evolution”, 1981
“A very important point that most people
overlook when it comes to word use, is that it
is impossible to use a word as a symbol or
figuratively unless it already has a literal
meaning.
The word ‘day’ cannot, in Hebrew or English,
be used in the abstract of symbolic sense
unless it already has a clearly understood
literal meaning.”
“It is a fact that before the modern era,
nobody in the history of the church for over
three thousand years ever questioned the
chronology of the Bible, and only a tiny
handful ever questioned that the six days of
Genesis 1 were ordinary 24-hour-type
days.”
James B. Jordan (D. Litt), Creation in Six
Days, p. 17.

Genesis chapter 1 requires scientific
information to interpret
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There was death before sin
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The Genesis Flood was NOT a worldwide
flood
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What does God’s “very good” mean in
Genesis 1:31?
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It is not a Salvation issue, but…
Authority of God’s Word … Jesus is the Creator
 Do we need the Old Testament?
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Creation is the foundation for the Gospel
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Why did Jesus die on the cross?
What is happening in schools today?
Attacks on the Bible
 Lack of respect by Christians for the Bible
 Evolution is being taught as a fact
 Evolution means materialism (No Creator)
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Evolution started in the Garden of Eden
Chuck Colson, How Now Shall We Live, 1999, p. 100.
“Creation is the first element of the
Christian worldview, the foundation on
which everything else is built. It is the basis
of human dignity, for our origin tells us
who we are, why we are here, and how we
should treat one another.”
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Kurt Wise
Ph.D. Paleontology
Steven A. Austin
Ph.D. Geology
John Morris
Ph.D. Geology
Elaine Kennedy
Ph.D. Geology
Donald B. DeYoung
Ph.D. Physics
Walter Brown
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering
Russell Humphreys
Ph.D. Physics
Keith Wanser
Ph.D. Condensed Matter Physics
Danny R. Faulkner
Ph.D. Astronomy
Duane T. Gish
Ph.D. Biochemistry
Ross S. Anderson
Ph.D. Biochemistry
Lane P. Lester
Ph.D. Genetics
Linda K. Walkup
Ph.D. Molecular Genetics
Ray Bohlin
Ph.D. Molecular Biology
Gary E. Parker
Ph.D. Biology
Jonathan Sarfati
Ph.D. Physical Chemistry
Charles Taylor
Ph.D. Linguistics (O.T.)
Robert Cole
Ph.D. Semitic Languages
Steven Boyd
Ph.D Hebraic and Cognitive Studies
Drs. John MacArthur, James Kennedy, David Jeremiah, Tim LaHaye
Dr. Keith Wanser (Ph.D. Condensed Matter Physics),
Creation ex nihilo, 1999, p. 39. (Dr. Wanser works with
theoretical condensed matter physics and basic theories of
matter)
“I am convinced there is far more
evidence for a recent, six-day creation
and a global Flood than there is for an
old earth and evolution.”
Psalm 118:8
It is better to trust in the Lord than to
put confidence in man
John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is
truth