EarthSci_6.1 Estimating Earth's Age and Principles

What is the current scientific estimate for the age of Earth?

• 6,000 years

• 75,000 years

• 100 million years

• 4.54 billion years

What was Greek philosopher Aristotle's theory regarding the age of the Earth?

• It was 6,000 years old.

• It was eternal, having existed forever.

• It was 100 million years old.

• It was created entirely separate from the rest of the universe.

How did James Ussher, a 17th-century Irish Archbishop, calculate his estimate for the Earth's age?

• By examining layers of rock and fossils.

• By measuring the cooling rate of a globe.

• By analyzing genealogical tables in the Book of Genesis.

• By observing the formation of limestone in warm, shallow seas.

What principle did naturalist Nicolas Steno propose regarding rock layers?

• The Earth was created entirely separate from the rest of the universe.

• Deeper rock layers are older than shallower ones.

• Layers with the same fossils are likely the same age.

• The Earth's age can be determined by its cooling rate.

What experimental method did Georges-Louis Leclerc use to estimate the Earth's age?

• Analyzing the rate of erosion of coastlines.

• Studying the fossil record in different geological strata.

• Measuring the cooling rate of a small globe resembling Earth's composition.

• Calculating the accumulation of salt in the oceans.

William Thomson's 1862 calculations for Earth's age were based on what principle?

• Salt accumulation in oceans

• Radioactive decay

• Cooling of a fully molten mass

• Erosion rates of land materials

What was a key factor William Thomson failed to acknowledge in his Earth age calculations?

• Ocean salinity

• Volcanic activity

• Radioactive decay and mantle convection

• Solar radiation

John Joly estimated the age of the oceans based on which process?

• Radioactive decay of isotopes

• Accumulation of salt from land erosion

• Cooling rates of the Earth's core

• Mantle convection

What significant discovery in the early 1900s drastically changed the understanding of Earth's cooling rate?

• Plate tectonics

• Mantle convection

• Radioactive decay

• Ocean current patterns

Clair Cameron Patterson determined the age of the Earth by dating what type of samples?

• Terrestrial rocks

• Lunar rocks

• Ocean sediments

• Meteorites