RELATIVE DATING

Front

What is Relative Dating?

Back

Relative dating is a method used to determine the age of rocks and fossils in relation to one another, without determining their exact age in years.

Front

What does the Law of Superposition state?

Back

The Law of Superposition states that in undisturbed rock layers, younger rocks lie above older rocks.

Front

What is the Law of Crosscutting?

Back

The Law of Crosscutting states that a geological feature (like a fault) that cuts through another is younger than the feature it cuts.

Front

What is an Unconformity?

Back

An unconformity is a break in the geologic record that occurs when rock layers are eroded over time.

Front

What is Absolute Dating?

Back

Absolute dating is a method used to determine the exact age of a rock or fossil in years.

Front

How do fossils form?

Back

Fossils typically form when an organism's bones are buried by sediment, which hardens over time into rock.

Front

What is the significance of fossils in relative dating?

Back

Fossils help scientists determine the relative ages of rock layers and the organisms that lived during those times.

Front

What is a fault in geology?

Back

A fault is a fracture in the Earth's crust along which movement has occurred.

Front

What is the difference between relative age and absolute age?

Back

Relative age compares the age of rocks and fossils to one another, while absolute age provides a specific age in years.

Front

What is a geologic time scale?

Back

A geologic time scale is a system of chronological dating that relates geological strata to time.