answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

by defining the age of rocks

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How have scientists used radioactive dating to show that earth is about 4.6 billion years old?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Natural Sciences

How old is earth and how did scientists find this out?

4.543 billion years. The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years


How do scientist explain how old the earth's is?

The age of the Earth has been determined through radiometric age dating. Small crystals of a mineral called Zircon have been dated to about 4.4 billion years old.


How do geologists know that earth and the solar system is apoximately 4.6 billion years old?

They use radioactive dating methods. The basic idea is that the concentration of radioactive isotopes decreases over time. At the same time, the concentration of the daughter products increases.


What is the scientific age of the solar system?

The solar system (and the earth itself) is believed to be around 4.6 billion years old (plus or minus 5 percent) based on radioactive dating of meteorites and rocks found on earth. This ignores problems such as Mercury's magnetic field which might call that date into question.


How does carbon dating prove a young earth?

Carbon-dating can not be used to prove the age of the earth, so it can not be used either to prove a "young earth" nor to support the scientific age of the earth. Carbon-dating is useful for archaeology, where it can date evidence of human artefacts up to fifty thousand years old. Some less less informed "Young Earth" creationists do believe that carbon-dating was used to date the earth. They attempt, unsuccessfully, to undermine the science of carbon-dating in the belief that by doing so they undermine the scientific age of the earth, rather than because they constructively prove their point. The best estimates of the age of the earth have been arrived at by radioactive dating, but not by carbon-dating. Had techniques of radioactive dating not been invented, other known methods of dating the earth would prove that the world is more than a few million years old. Some of these are described in the related question, attached below.

Related questions

How have scientists used radioactive dating to show that earth is about 4.6 billions years?

by defining the age of rocks


How old is earth and how did scientists find this out?

4.543 billion years. The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years


How old is Earth and how scientists find this out?

4.543 billion years. The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years


How old is the the earth and how did scientist know?

About 4.5 billion years old - calculated by the radioactive dating of the oldest rocks found AND the dating of even older meteorites.


What does a radioactive dating estimate about the earth's formation with isotopes of uranium and thorium?

Radioactive dating estimate the age of rocks.


How do scientists best determine the age of the earth?

The best estimate for Earth's age is based on radiometric dating of fragments from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. From the fragments, scientists calculated the relative abundances of elements that formed as radioactive uranium decayed over billions of years.


What evidence supports the hypothesis that Earth is 4.6 billion years?

Among other things, rocks have been found that are over 4 billion years old. The age of such rocks is determined by radioactive dating. Note that this is not "a" method, but perhaps 40 different methods (depending on the isotopes involved), which complement one another.The exact age of the Earth is harder to determine exactly; but basically, it must be at least as old as the oldest rocks found.


How old do scientists think that earth is?

4.6 billion years


How do scientist explain how old the earth's is?

The age of the Earth has been determined through radiometric age dating. Small crystals of a mineral called Zircon have been dated to about 4.4 billion years old.


How did scientists know how old the earth is?

By carbon dating minerals, fossils or objects, in the earth.


How do geologists know that earth and the solar system is apoximately 4.6 billion years old?

They use radioactive dating methods. The basic idea is that the concentration of radioactive isotopes decreases over time. At the same time, the concentration of the daughter products increases.


Did the earth exist 5 billion years ago?

scientists believe it.