Relative And Absolute Dating

Question 1

HOW DO WE KNOW THE AGE OF ROCKS?
-Scientists use 2 methods to determine the age of rocks:

Answer 1

1. Relative Dating
2. Absolute Dating

Question 2

This results in
deformation of Earth’s crust. There are three types of plate boundaries that makes
the earth’s crust move
3 types:

Answer 2

1. CRUSTAL MOVEMENT the movement of the crust
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries
3. Divergent Plate Boundaries
4. Transform Plate Boundaries

Question 3

when two
tectonic plates move toward each other and collide. These
boundaries are the site of earthquakes, volcanoes, and other
geological activities.

Answer 3

Convergent plate boundaries

Question 4

exists between two tectonic plates
that are moving away from each other.
within continents initially produce riffs, eventually becomes riff valley.

Answer 4

Divergent plate boundaries

Question 5

where two plates slide past one
another. Most are found in the ocean basin and
connect offsets in the mid-ocean ridges

Answer 5

Transform plate boundaries

Question 6

How do layers of stratified rocks formed?
3 types

Answer 6

1. Crustal Movement
2. Displacement of soils or soil erosion (remove by human activity = tilting)
3. Distortion of terrains or weathering

Question 7

A natural process that occurs as
soil is washed away by running water, blown away by wind, or removed by human
activities such as tilting (inclined).

Answer 7

DISPLACEMENT OF SOILS or soil erosion

Question 8

The breaking down of rocks at the
earth’s surface by the action rain. Rocks, such as lavas, that are quickly buried
beneath other rocks are less vulnerable to weathering and erosion than rocks
that are exposed to agents such as wind and water

Answer 8

DISTORTION OF TERRAINS or weathering

Question 9

What is Dating?

Answer 9

When geologists date rocks, they are determining how long ago they formed

Question 10

is when you give the age of a rock or fossil compared to another rock or fossil.

•Example: Rock A is OLDER than Rock B.
•An actual age in years is not determined.

Answer 10

Relative Dating

Question 11

(RULES OF RELATIVE DATING)

Answer 11

1. Law of Superposition

When sedimentary rock layers are deposited, younger layers are on top of older

2. Law of Original Horizontality: Sedimentary rock layers are deposited horizontally. If they are tilted, folded, or broken, it happened later.
3. Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships: If an igneous intrusion or a fault cuts through existing rocks, the intrusion/fault is YOUNGER than the rock it cuts through

Question 12

●Determining how old something is
●Use numbers (in millions of years, mya)
●Only works for Igneous Rocks
●Determines the specific age of a fossil
●Looks at chemical properties
2 types:

Answer 12

Absolute Dating
1. Carbon-14 (radiocarbon)
2. Potassium-Argon

Question 13

●Also known as Radiocarbon dating
●Used to date organic substances
●Scientists measure the radiocarbon in the fossil to determine its age
●Can only date specimens up to about 60,000 years old

Answer 13

Carbon-14 Dating

Question 14

●Scientists determine the age of the rock surrounding the fossil to determine the fossil’s age.
●Used only for inorganic substances (rocks and minerals)
●Scientists measure the amount of argon in the rock to determine its age
●Dates rock 60,000 years old and older

Answer 14

Potassium-Argon Dating

Question 15

●Absolute Dating
•Helps us determine the age of the earth
•Helps us determine when specific events in the history of the earth happened (ex. Extinction of the dinosaurs)

●Relative Dating
•Can help us estimate the time span between major earthquakes, storms, tsunamis etc
•Can help us determine the order that life forms developed on earth