You can easily calculate the age of the substance by multiplying the number of half-lives that have elapsed and multiplying it by the known half live of the isotope. The derivation is simple. It is known that the original content of the radioactive isotope was a certain amount. Over an unknown period of time, the amount decreased to a new value that we actually know.
We also know the rate of decrease. Then, by simply multiplying the rate of decrease by the actual number of times that the substance has halved, you can find the age of the substance. It is straight forward once you start to understand the situation.
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