Why is radiocarbon dating the preferred method for determining the renewable carbon of materials and gases?
A material’s renewable carbon content (carbon from recently expired matter) is correlated to its carbon 14 content. Matter that came from renewable sources still has carbon 14 whereas those from fossil sources have no carbon 14 left. Through radiocarbon dating, the amount of carbon 14 is known. It is the preferred method because it has the technology to measure the quantity of carbon 14 present.