Does radiometric dating produce exact results why or why not?

Answer 1

Yes, sufficient care is taken in the selection of the original sample.

Similar care is needed in the selection of the dating series (K-Ar, Rb-Sr, etc), for not all minerals are equally suitable for dating.

The rock must not have suffered any metamorphism or other change, which could re-distribute the elements in a new matrix.

The care in the laboratory is of a 'clean room' standard, and techniques must exclude any possibility of contamination due to handling. e.g. borosilicate glass must be used rather than the common lime soda glass.

With care dating using K/Ar may have an accuracy of a few percent.

Have a crack at K-Ar Dating in a reference such as wikipedia. This will give an idea of the sophistication of the method and its background required.

Answer 2

Yes, it is quite accurate but only if the procedure is carried out correctly. One way to prove the accuracy of radiometric dating is cross referencing different samples. The age of the Earth has been determined as approximately 4.5 billion years old, and this is in good agreement with the age of moon rocks and meteorites.

Answer 3

(The Clock was Reset to Zero)suggests that at the time rocks forms, the amount of parent and daughter isotopes are known or can be calculated... daughter products develop as the rock becomes older... radiometric ages that appear older than they should are explained by saying the clock was not reset. contradicted by evidence that suggests the ratio of parent and daughter material in volcanic rock varies and is unpredictable...(Closed System) suggests that the material being tested has not gained or lost parent or daughter material since it formed. radiometric ages that appear older or younger than they should are explained by saying the system was not closed. contradicted by evidence that samples are often not isolated and are affected by the environment.

Answer 4

Radio Carbon dating has been used for many years, and the accuracy has been improved by new techniques and equipment- but the error (plus or minus) is still measured in years- not days or months. So the answer depends on how you define accuracy.

Isotopic (commonly called radiometric dating) is extremely useful in finding the actual age of rock, particularly when a sample contains more than one isotope that can be used to determine the amount of radioactive decay that has occurred. There is some unavoidable inaccuracy present in that the formation or cooling of igneous rock from magma that contains useful isotopes can be a process that takes a widely varying amount of time, sometimes a million years or more.

On the lighter side

Boy atoms and girl atoms have the same chance of finding 'the one' as any one of us humans. There will be one other radioactive isotope which is perfect for another, and to find this we use radioactive dating. Common locations for radioactive dates are the cinema, theatre or the ozone layer, and quite often end in what we call 'bonding', a euphemism for atoms 'hooking up'.

Answer 5

No. Datings can be made to a +/- that varies according to the length of time dated.

For millions of years that could mean to a +/- of several thousand years. For thousands, that would be +/- hundreds

Answer 6

no its impossible no type of radioactive dating produces an exact result theres no way of showing nothing can show it exactly

Answer 7

No, its impossible.