Relative vs. Radiometric Dating

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What is relative dating?

Back

A method used to determine the age of rocks and fossils by comparing them to other rock layers, ordering them from oldest to youngest.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

What is radiometric dating?

Back

A technique used to date materials by measuring the decay of radioactive isotopes, providing a specific age.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

What does the Law of Superposition state?

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In a sequence of undisturbed sedimentary rocks, the oldest layers are at the bottom and the youngest are at the top.

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What is the Principle of Original Horizontality?

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The principle that sedimentary rocks are deposited in horizontal layers; if they are found tilted, they were disturbed after deposition.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

What is the Law of Faunal Succession?

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A principle stating that fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and recognizable order, allowing for relative dating.

Front

What is the significance of naturally occurring radioactive elements in dating?

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They are used in radiometric dating to determine the age of rocks and fossils based on their decay rates.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

What is carbon dating?

Back

A form of radiometric dating that uses the decay of carbon-14 to estimate the age of organic materials up to about 50,000 years.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8

Front

What is the difference between relative age and radiometric age?

Back

Relative age indicates whether one rock is older or younger than another, while radiometric age provides a specific numerical age.

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What is an isotope?

Back

Variants of a particular chemical element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

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What is half-life?

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The time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay into a stable form.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-8