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Carbon Dating & Half-lives

Total questions: 10

Worksheet time: 5mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which is used in radioactive dating?

a)

Carbon-14

b)

Index fossils

c)

Hydrochloric acid

d)

Law of superposition

2.

Through relative dating, a geologist finds a fossil that is approximately 10,000 years old. Which radioactive element would geologist use to accurately calculate the fossils age?

a)

Gallium 67 with a half life of 78 hours

b)

Carbon-14 with a half-life of 5,700 years

c)

Plutonium-238 with a half-life of 88 years

d)

Iodine-129 with a half-life of 16 million years

3.

Which method would be best for scientist to use to determine the absolute age of a Precambrian igneous rock.

a)

index fossil

b)

law of superposition

c)

radiometric dating

d)

law of original horizontality

4.

Which can be used to find the exact age of a rock specimen?

a)

ice cores

b)

radioactive dating

c)

index fossils

d)

trace fossils

5.

Which characteristic of Carbon-14 dating helps scientist determine the approximate time a species became extinct.

a)

Carbon-14 is not present in more recent fossils.

b)

Carbon-14 increases at a constant rate over time

c)

Carbon-14 decreases at a constant rate over time

d)

Carbon-14 is not present in fossils

6.

Which method is most accurate in determining the age of a rock sample.

a)

Superposition

b)

Relative Dating

c)

Radioactive Dating

d)

Trace fossils

7.

The radioactive isotope content of a rock can be used to identify which property of the rock?

a)

the total mass of a rock

b)

the rate at which the rock formed

c)

types of fossils that the rock contains

d)

the amount of time that has passed since the rock formed

8.

Which process would be most effective in determining the age of fossils embedded in rock?

a)

relative dating

b)

absolute dating

c)

index fossils

d)

core samples

9.

Which is the most accurate method scientist use to estimate Earth's age?

a)

Relativism

b)

Superposition

c)

Relative Dating

d)

Radioactive Dating

10.

Which best explains the use of radioactive dating?

a)

determine the presence of index fossils

b)

determine the relative age of a rock layer

c)

determine the absolute age of a rock layer

d)

determine changes in the surface of the Earth