What type of materials does Carbon-14 dating help to analyze?

Carbon-14 dating is a radiometric dating technique that is used specifically to determine the age of relatively recent organic materials. This method exploits the presence of carbon-14, a radioactive isotope of carbon that is formed in the atmosphere and absorbed by living organisms during their lifetimes. When an organism dies, it stops taking in carbon-14, and the isotope begins to decay at a known rate (with a half-life of about 5,730 years).

This means that Carbon-14 dating is effective for dating materials that were once part of living organisms, typically up to about 50,000 years old. Therefore, it is particularly suited for analyzing things like bones, wood, and other organic remains. The presence of carbon-14 in these materials allows scientists to make accurate estimations about their age based on the ratio of carbon-14 to stable carbon isotopes.

In contrast, inorganic rocks, old fossils, and mineral deposits are not suitable for Carbon-14 dating as they either do not contain organic material or they are too old for this method to yield reliable results. Thus, the correct answer reflects the capability of Carbon-14 dating to analyze recent organic remains.