What is Carbon-14?

Carbon-14 is like a special clock hidden inside some types of stuff that helps scientists know how old things are.

Imagine you have a bag full of jellybeans, and every time you shake the bag, one jellybean turns into a chocolate coin. Over time, more jellybeans become coins. Scientists can count how many coins there are to figure out how long ago the bag was shaken, that's kind of like what Carbon-14 does.

Carbon-14 is a type of carbon, which is one of the most common elements on Earth and makes up part of everything from trees to your favorite toy. Most carbon has 6 protons, but Carbon-14 has 2 extra neutrons, like having an extra piece in a puzzle.

When living things are alive, they take in Carbon-14 along with regular carbon. But when they die, the Carbon-14 starts to change into another element called nitrogen, kind of like how jellybeans turn into coins when you shake the bag.

Scientists can count how much Carbon-14 is left in something and know about how old it is, just like counting coins tells us how long ago the bag was shaken.