Earth Science - Relative and Absolute Dating

Which of these is the best indication of the relative age of a rock layer?

• The chemical make-up of the layer

• The thickness of the layer

• The position of the layer compared to another layer

• The distance of the layer extending over Earth

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Relative age of a rock is the number of years that have passed since the rock formed?            

• True

• False

Summarize the Law of Superposition

• The youngest rocks are located at the bottom of the rock layers

• The oldest rocks are located at the bottom of the rock layers

• The ages of the rocks are mixed between the layers of the rock

• The ages of all the rocks are the same throughout all the layers

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

What does the Law of Original Horizontality mean?

• Sedimentary Rocks nautrally form vertical layers and then they fall horizontally

• Sedimentary Rocks form in horizontal layers

• Sedimentary Rocks form vertical and horizontal layers

• Sedimentary Rocks cannot change direction once formed

Using the information from the prevous slides. Which rock layer is the youngest?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

The fossil record shows that horseshoe crabs have existed with very little change for about 1 billion years. Would horseshoe crabs be useful as an index fossil?

• Yes, because they were around for a very long time

• No, because horseshoe crabs can never be used as index fossils

• No, because they were around for TOO LARGE of an amount of time

• Yes, because horseshoe crabs can always be used as index fossils

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

How does absolute age differ from relative age?

• only absolute dating indicates which rock is older than another
• only absolute dating finds the age in years
• only relative dating finds the age in years

How old is the Earth?

• 4.6 billion years
• 1.4 billion years
• 4.6 million years
• 6000 years

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

According to the law of superposition, the oldest fossils are found 

• At the top of the rock layers
• Near the bottom of the rock layers
• In the middle of the rock layers
• Somewhat near the surface

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Put the layers in order from oldest to youngest.

• a, b, c, d, e
• b, c, d, a, e
• b, c, d, e, a 
• e, d, c, b, a

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4