Relative and Absolute Dating

Front

What is absolute dating?

Back

A method used to determine the exact age of a rock or fossil, often using radiometric techniques.

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What is relative dating?

Back

A method used to determine the age of rocks or fossils in relation to one another, without determining their exact age.

Front

What does the Law of Superposition state?

Back

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

Front

What is radiometric dating?

Back

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

Front

What is a half-life?

Back

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

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How old do scientists believe the Earth is?

Back

Approximately 4.6 billion years old.

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What is the significance of the Permian period?

Back

It is the most recent geological period before the mass extinction event that occurred at the end of the Permian.

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What is an unconformity in geology?

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A gap in the geological record that represents a period of erosion or non-deposition.

Front

What is the difference between absolute and relative dating?

Back

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

Front

What is the principle of cross-cutting relationships?

Back

If a geological feature cuts through another, the feature that has been cut is older.