Absolute Dating

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What is absolute dating?

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Absolute dating is a method used to determine the exact age of an object or event in years, often through techniques such as radiometric dating.

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What is the primary method used by geologists for absolute dating?

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Geologists primarily use radioactive dating to determine the absolute age of rocks.

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True or False: All plants and animals contain carbon.

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True.

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What is carbon-14 used for in dating?

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Carbon-14 is used in radiometric dating to determine the age of organic materials up to about 50,000 years old.

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What percentage of carbon-14 remains after one half-life (5730 years)?

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50%.

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How does absolute dating differ from relative dating?

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Absolute dating provides a specific age in years, while relative dating places events in order without providing exact dates.

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What is radiometric dating?

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Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials by comparing the abundance of a radioactive isotope to its decay products.

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What is a half-life in the context of radioactive decay?

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A half-life is the time required for half of the radioactive isotopes in a sample to decay.

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Why is radiometric dating possible?

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Radiometric dating is possible because the rates of decay of radioactive isotopes are constant.

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What types of materials can be dated using carbon-14?

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Carbon-14 can be used to date organic materials, such as wood, bone, and shell.