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Week 6 Absolute and Relative Dating 3

Relative and absolute dating techniques are used to determine the age of rocks and fossils. Relative dating places events in order but does not provide a true age. It is based on principles like superposition and cross-cutting relationships. Absolute dating provides numerical ages using radiometric dating techniques to measure radioactive decay, with examples being radiocarbon dating and potassium-argon dating. Both relative and absolute methods are important in developing the geologic timescale and dating the evolution of life.

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23 views

Week 6 Absolute and Relative Dating 3

Relative and absolute dating techniques are used to determine the age of rocks and fossils. Relative dating places events in order but does not provide a true age. It is based on principles like superposition and cross-cutting relationships. Absolute dating provides numerical ages using radiometric dating techniques to measure radioactive decay, with examples being radiocarbon dating and potassium-argon dating. Both relative and absolute methods are important in developing the geologic timescale and dating the evolution of life.

Uploaded by

Danken Mathew P. Torres
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Relative and

Absolute
Dating

Week 5
Activity 1: Solving the Earth’s Puzzle!
Relative and Absolute Dating

–Scientists first developed the geologic time


scale by studying rock layers and index
fossils. The information gathered by the
scientists placed the Earth rock strata in
order by relative age. Geologic time is often
discussed in two forms: relative time and
absolute time.
Relative time is a
subdivision of the Earth’s
geology in a specific order
based upon the relative
age relationships
(commonly, vertical, or
stratigraphic position).
Relative time can be
established usually based
on fossils.
–Absolute time refers to the numerical ages in
millions of years or some other measurement.
These are obtained by radioactive dating methods
performed on appropriate rocks.
–Relative time can be referred to as the physical
aspects found in rocks while absolute time refers to
the measurements taken upon those to determine
the actual time it expired. The time scale is depicted
in its traditional form with the oldest at the bottom
and the youngest at the top.
Ways to Date Rocks:

–Relative Dating:
– Places events in geologic history in the
proper order relative to one another.
– The basis for the geologic time scale
– Does not provide a true “age”
The following are the major
methods of relative dating

1.Stratigraphy: The oldest


dating method which studies the
successive placement of layers. It
is based on the concept that the
lowest layer is the oldest and the
topmost layer is the youngest
– The Law of Superposition states that younger
strata lie on top of older strata. The Principle of
Cross-Cutting Relationships states that intrusions
and faults that cut across rock are necessarily
younger than that rock. Inclusions, or foreign
bodies, found inside the rock are necessarily older
than that rock.
Activity: Let us Explore!
Use the laws of superposition, inclusions, and cross-cutting relationships to
determine the relative ages of the following cross-sections. Determine the
oldest bed first up to youngest.
2.Biostratigraphy: An extended version of
stratigraphy where the faunal deposits are used to
establish dating. Faunal deposits include remains
and fossils of dead animals.
3.Cross dating: This method compares the age of remains or
fossils found in a layer with the ones found in other layers. The
comparison helps establish the relative age of these remains
4.Fluorine dating: Bones from fossils absorb fluorine
from the groundwater. The amount of fluorine absorbed
indicates how long the fossil has been buried in the
sediments.
Ways to Date Rocks:

– Absolute Dating:
– Gives us the true “age” of a fossil or rock
– All you need is a tiny sample of material (mineral, bone)
no larger than a grain of rice.
– Mainly organic tissue or igneous crystals
– Measures the amount of unstable isotopes (radioactive)
that have “decayed” to figure out age
The following are the major methods of absolute dating.
– Radiometric dating: This technique solely depends on the traces of
radioactive isotopes found in fossils. The rate of decay of these elements
helps determine their age, and in turn the age of the rocks.
– Radioactive elements decay because they are
composed of unstable isotopes that decompose
spontaneously. Each atom has a certain probability of
decaying at any time. It has half-life or time for it to
decompose into half.

Daughter isotopes accumulate in rocks. The longer the


rock exists, the more daughter isotopes accumulate.
The process of determining the absolute ages of rocks
and minerals by measuring the relative amounts of
parent and daughter isotopes is called radioactive
dating.
The atoms of some chemical elements have different
forms, called isotopes. These break down over time in
a process scientist call radioactive decay. Potassium-
40 is one of the radiometric dating isotopes.
Potassium-40 has a 1.3 billion-year half-life. It breaks
down into argon and calcium. Geologist measures
argon as a daughter substance Uranium-238 is a
radioactive isotope that decays to lead-206 after a
certain amount of time. Uranium-238 has a half-life of
4.5 billion years. Rocks older than 10 million years can
be dated using uranium-lead dating.
1.Amino acid dating: Physical structure of living beings
depends on the protein content in their bodies. The changes in
this content help determine the relative age of these fossils.
2.Dendrochronology: Each tree has growth rings
in its trunk. This technique dates the time or
period during which these rings were formed.
3.Thermoluminescence: It determines the period during
which certain object was last subjected to heat. It is based on
the concept that heated objects absorb light and emit electrons.
The emissions are measured to compute the age.
Activity 2: Tell Me! Relative Dating? Or Absolute Dating?
Read the statement carefully and tell what type of dating is being
described. Write RD if relative, and AD if absolute.

.
1. It tells if an object/event is younger or older than
another object/event from history. Activity
2
2. It is qualitative. 1. RD
2. RD
3. Most absolute dates for rocks are obtained with 3. AD
4. AD
radiometric methods. 5. AD
4. It is quantitative.
5. This technique helps determine the exact age of the
remains
Thank You!

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