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Radiometric dating

Total questions: 16

Worksheet time: 8mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Radiometric dating is used to...

a)

calculate the age of a fossil.

b)

calculate the size of a fossil.

c)

calculate the gender of a fossil.

d)

calculate the evolution of a fossil.

2.

Pretend an atom has:

4 protons,

5 electrons,

and 9 neutrons.

What element is it?

a)

Be

Beryllium

b)

B

Boron

c)

F

Florine

d)

Si

Silicon

e)

Ar

Argon

3.

The 6 in this picture is called the ____.

a)

atomic number

b)

atomic mass

c)

atomic length

d)

atomic volume

e)

atomic value

4.

How many protons does Carbon 14 contain?

a)

6

b)

8

c)

14

d)

20

5.

How many neutrons does Carbon 14 contain?

a)

6

b)

8

c)

14

d)

20

6.

Isotopes are atoms of the same element with a differing number of ____.

a)

neutrons

b)

protons

c)

electrons

d)

prions

7.

What do Carbon12 and Carbon14 have in common?

Pick all that apply.

a)

the same atomic number

b)

the same number of electrons

c)

the same number of protons

d)

the same atomic mass

e)

the same number of neutrons

8.

The time taken for 50% of an isotope to decay is known as the _____.

a)

half life

b)

quarter life

c)

mid life

d)

whole life

e)

relative life

9.

Which law states that older rock layers are buried deaper in the Earth?

a)

superposition

b)

commensalism

c)

natural selection

d)

evolution

e)

competitive exclusion

10.

Which types of rock are younger than Mudstone? Pick all that apply.

a)

recent beach sand

b)

pleistocene beach sand

c)

basalt

d)

limestone

e)

domomite

11.

Pretend the half life of an element is 100 years. How many half-lives would 200 years represent?

a)

one

b)

two

c)

three

d)

four

12.

Pretend the half life of an element is 100 years. How much of the original 100% would remain after 200 years?

a)

50%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

6.25%

13.

Pretend the half life of an element is 100 years. After 300 years, how many half lives of time has passed since the fossil was alive?

a)

one

b)

two

c)

three

d)

four

14.

Pretend the half life of an element is 100 years. Pretend the atmosphere naturally contains 600ppm of this element. If a fossil were 300 years old, much of the element would remain?

a)

600 ppm

b)

300ppm

c)

150 ppm

d)

75 ppm

15.

How much C14 will remain in a fossil after 17,190 years?

a)

35%

b)

25%

c)

12.5%

d)

7%

16.

If a fossil is discovered to contain 10% of the normal amount of C14, how old would it be estimated?

a)

about 10,000 years old

b)

about 30,000 years old

c)

about 20,000 years old

d)

about 40,000 years old