Chapter 12 Flashcards
Radiometric dating is:
Estimating the age of a sample using radioisotopes.
Relative dating is the process of:
Determining the sequence of events in a period of geologic history.
Early critical thinkers estimated the Earth’s age using:
All of the above
The five fundamental geologic events described by stratigraphic principles are:
Deposition, erosion, deformation, faulting, and intrusion.
The principle of superposition states that:
All of the above
When an intrusion invades the crust, its relative position in a sequence of geologic events is determined using the principle of:
Cross-cutting relationships.
William “Strata” Smith is known for:
His use of the principle of fossil succession.
Explain how the principle of cross-cutting relationships is related to the principle of unconformities:
Unconformities cut across pre-existing strata.
To date a very old rock, a geologist should use an isotope that:
Has a long half life
A radioscope with a short half-life should be used to date:
A very young geologic event.
Typically, primary radioisotopes have:
Longer half-lives than cosmogenic radioisotopes.
One problem with radiometeic dating is:
Open system behavior
Which method would a geologist use to date a fossil bone fragment of a mammoth?
carbon-14
Moon Rocks are:
Evidence that Earth’s age is approximately 4.6 billion years old.
Which of the following statements is true?
It is unlikely that any rocks are left on Earth from its origin.
