Podcast
Questions and Answers
What information does relative dating provide about a rock or fossil?
What information does relative dating provide about a rock or fossil?
- The exact age of the rock or fossil in years.
- Whether one rock or fossil is older or younger than another. (correct)
- The chemical composition of the rock or fossil.
- The temperature at which the rock or fossil was formed.
Which principle is fundamental to stratigraphic succession?
Which principle is fundamental to stratigraphic succession?
- All rock layers are formed at the same time.
- Rock layers are built up in a specific order, from bottom to top. (correct)
- The age of rock layers can be determined by their color.
- The youngest rock layers are typically found at the bottom.
How does fossil succession contribute to determining the age of fossils?
How does fossil succession contribute to determining the age of fossils?
- By directly calculating the years since the organism died.
- By analyzing the DNA of the fossilized organism.
- By comparing fossils in different rock strata to determine relative ages. (correct)
- By measuring the amount of carbon-14 in the fossil.
If a paleontologist discovers two fossils in different rock layers, how might they use relative dating to determine which fossil is older?
If a paleontologist discovers two fossils in different rock layers, how might they use relative dating to determine which fossil is older?
Why is it important for scientists to establish an ordered sequence of events in geologic history when using relative dating methods?
Why is it important for scientists to establish an ordered sequence of events in geologic history when using relative dating methods?
Flashcards
Relative Dating
Relative Dating
Determining the age of rocks and fossils by comparing different rock layers and the sequence of geological events.
Stratigraphic Succession
Stratigraphic Succession
The principle that rock layers are built up in order, with the oldest layers at the bottom and the youngest at the top.
Fossil Succession
Fossil Succession
Using fossils found in different rock layers to determine the relative ages of the layers and fossils.
What relative dating CAN'T do
What relative dating CAN'T do
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Fossil Succession
Fossil Succession
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Study Notes
- Scientists use relative and numerical dating to determine the age of rocks and fossils.
Relative Dating
- Relative dating compares rock layers to determine an ordered sequence of events in geologic history.
- It cannot determine the actual age of a rock, only whether one rock is older or younger than another.
- Stratigraphic succession is the most common form of relative dating.
- Sedimentary rock layers build up from bottom to top, with the bottom layer being the oldest and the top layer being the youngest.
- Fossil succession compares fossils in different rock strata to determine their relative ages.
- For example, if an iguanodon fossil is found in a light green layer and a coelophysis fossil is found in a yellow layer, the coelophysis fossil is older.
Numerical Dating
- Numerical dating determines a rock or fossil's absolute age in years.
- Unlike relative dating, numerical dating provides an exact age.
- Radiometric dating is the primary form of numerical dating.
- Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in uranium in 1896.
- Ernest Rutherford realized in 1905 that radiation could establish the ages of rocks.
- Radiometric dating involves using radioactive decay to determine the age of rocks.
- Elements such as uranium, potassium, rubidium, and carbon are used to measure the ages of different types of rocks.
- Radiometric dating does not give an exact date, but an approximation of the fossil's age.
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Description
This lesson discuses how scientists use relative and numerical dating to determine the age of rocks and fossils. Relative dating compares rock layers to determine an ordered sequence of events. Numerical dating determines a rock or fossil's absolute age in years.
