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Radiometric Dating

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of these choices is the best definition of absolute dating?

a)

determining the age of a rock layer by studying the fossils present

b)

finding the age of an object compared to other objects

c)

measuring the age of an object in years using any method

d)

determining the amount of a radioactive isotope in an object

2.

. Which of these statements describes what happens during radioactive decay?

a)

A Stable isotope interacts with an unstable isotope

b)

A stable isotope breaks down and becomes unstable

c)

An unstable isotope breaks down into a more stable isotope.

d)

An unstable isotope interacts with another unstable isotope.

3.
The half-life Carbon-14 is 5,730 years. How much parent material is left after 5,730 years?
a)
75%
b)
50%
4.
The absolute age of an igneous rock can best be determined by ...
a)
comparing radioactive isotopes
b)
comparing crystal sizes
5.
Which time period on the chart was the longest?
a)
Permian
b)
Cambrian
6.
Trilobite fossils are found in Cambrian rocks but not in Triassic rocks. This is best explained because ...
a)
Trilobites went extinct before the Triassic rocks
b)
fossils did not form during the Triasssic
7.
The length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay is its...
a)
era
b)
age
c)
half-life
d)
eon
8.
If the half-life of a radioactive group of atoms is 100 years, then how old is the rock if there have been two half-lives?
a)
25 years
b)
200 years
c)
400 years
d)
800 years
9.
The original element that undergoes radioactive decay is known as the...
a)
daughter element
b)
half-life
c)
parent element
d)
carbon-14
10.
The graph shows the radioactive decay of a 50-gram sample of a radioactive isotope. 
According to the graph, what is the half-life of this isotope? 
a)
100 years
b)
150 years
c)
200 years
d)
300 years
11.

Which is NOT a method to date the oldest earth rock, mars rock, moon rocks, or meteors?

a)

Stratigraphic layering

b)

Crater density

c)

radiometric dating

d)

tree rings

12.
How old is our solar system?
a)

4.5 billion years

b)
13.8 billion years
c)
6,000 years
d)
15,000 years
13.
When the inner planets (and moons) were bombarded by asteroids, what did the asteroids leave behind?
a)
craters
b)
calderas
c)
mountains
d)
valleys
14.
Why is Mercury covered with craters, but Earth is not?
a)

Earth's atmosphere burns up most asteroids and has weathering and erosion

b)

Earth's moon blocks asteroids, making the moon have more craters

c)

asteroids just missed Earth due to the magnetic field

d)

most asteroids are deflected by the atmosphere due to the stratosphere pressures

15.

When an unstable nuclei of an isotope loses energy by radiation it is called

a)

Radioactive decay

b)

Fermentation

c)

Being extra

d)

Nucleic acid