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What laws uses fossils to determine the relative dates of layers?
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Can the principles of relative dating be used to determine the date a rock layer was deposited?
Yes, if you know the dates of deposit of the layers above and below.
Fossils that can be used to establish relative dates are most likely to be found in?
sedimentary rocks.
What is a Method in which a scientist could use fossils to determine the age of the soil in which the fossils were found?
There are several ways of identifying the age of fossils.Stratigraphic MethodLiterally counting the layers or strata of the rock. If you can determine the age of one layer then on most occasions you can count the number of layers down.Also connected with stratification is Magnetic Stratigraphy. It is thought that Earths magnetic field reverses every 300,000 years (although it is estimated this last happened 780,000 years ago). When certain sedimentary and volcanic layers are laid down elements in the rock align with Earths magnetic field. As you go down the layers of rock you can measure which way the elements are aligned and thus determine the age.Radiometric MethodCertain radioactive elements can be used to date fossils. Volcanic rock has no lead when it is laid down. However it does contain Uranium. If you compare the ration between U-235 and Pb-207 accurate dates can be determined. Also important is potassium and argon. Ratio's between K-40 and Ar-40 can determine the age of the fossil.If the fossil is very young (less than 60,000 years) Carbon 14 can also be used. So called carbon dating.Index MethodCertain animals and plants were wide spread on earth. We also through other methods have determined accurate dates for these index fossils. If you find an index fossil in the same layer as a fossil you can tell the age.
What is the primary technique for determining the absolute age of a rock?
well its do to the sediment in a rock by it layering
What is the difference between absolute dating and relative dating?
The difference between relative dating and absolute dating is that relative dating is a method of sequencing events in the order in which they happened. Absolute dating is a method of estimating the age of a rock sample in years via radiometric techniques.Short Answer:The term relative dating is distinguished from absolute dating to make it clear that one does not get a specific estimate of the age of an object from relative dating, but one does get such an estimate of true age from absolute dating. There are several techniques employed in both sets of methods. Radiometric dating is one type of absolute dating.Long Answer:Sciences such as geology, Paleontology and archeology are very interested in identifying the age of objects found and these scientists sometimes use both relative dating or absolute dating to characterize the age of the objects they study.Before radiometric dating (or other methods of absolute dating like counting tree rings) it was difficult to determine the actual age of an object. Radiometric dating, based on known rates of decay of radioactive isotopes in objects, allows a specific age of an object to be determined to some degree of accuracy.Relative dating is a scientific process of evaluation used to determine the relative order of past events, but does not determine the absolute age of an object. The circumstances of the object may allow one to say that one object is older than another without being able to assign a particular age to the objects. Very often historical evidence is found in layers and older layers are further down that the top layers.For example:If an archaeologist is studying past civilizations, the archaeologist may be able to say that in a particular location the ruins of one civilization were found to have been built on another and so the layers unearthed in an excavation convey the sequence of historical occupations without revealing the actual dates. However, carbon dating is an absolute dating technique that can give an estimate of the actual age of an artifact and thus an estimate of the age of other objects in the same layer. Carbon dating is one example of radiometric dating.Similarly, relative dating is done by paleontologists who find layers of fossils. By deducing which fossils are formed in the sequence of time, the periods when the particular fossilized entities existed can be arranged in order without the actual dates of when the fossils were laid down. The radiometric techniques that give absolute dating estimates are based on radioactive decay of elements such as uranium.For geologists, it is similar. Looking at how rock formations are structured, a geologist may be able to say which rock was developed in which layer in a particular order but not be able to determine that actual geologic age of the layers. Geologists also have radiometric methods for absolute dating based on radioactive decay of certain elements.
Can the principles of relative dating be used to determine the date a rock layer was deposited?
Yes, if you know the dates of deposit of the layers above and below.
Fossils that can be used to establish relative dates are most likely to be found in?
sedimentary rocks.
What are the two ways to date a fossil?
Radioactive isotope dating (potassium, argon) and relative dating, comparing with fossils of the same characteristics with known dates. Particularly if they are known to be 'zone fossils'
What is a synonym for relative dating?
Short Answer:Relative dating is a scientific process of evaluation used to determine the relative order of past events. One does not get a specific estimate of the age of an object from relative dating, but one does get such an estimate of true age from absolute dating. There are several techniques employed in both sets of methods.Long Answer:Sciences such as geology, paleontology and archeology are very interested in identifying the age of objects found and these scientists sometimes use both relative dating or absolute dating to characterize the age of the objects they study.Before radiometric dating (or other methods like counting tree rings) it was difficult to determine the actual age of an object. Radiometric dating, based on known rates of decay of radioactive isotopes in objects, allows a specific age of an object to be determined to some degree of accuracy.Relative dating is a scientific process of evaluation used to determine the relative order of past events, but does not determine the absolute age of an object. The circumstances of the object may allow one to say that one object is older than another without being able to assign a particular age to the objects. Very often historical evidence is found in layers and older layers are further down that the top layers.For example:If an archaeologist is studying past civilizations, the archaeologist may be able to say that in a particular location the ruins of one civilization were found to have been built on another and so the layers unearthed in an excavation convey the sequence of historical occupations without revealing the actual dates.Similarly, relative dating is done by paleontologists who find layers of fossils. By deducing which fossils are formed in the sequence of time, the periods when the particular fossilized entities existed can be arranged in order without the actual dates of when the fossils were laid down.For geologists, it is similar. Looking at how rock formations are structured, a geologist may be able to say which rock was developed in which layer in a particular order but not be able to determine that actual geologic age of the layers.
How is the relative age of fossils determined?
It is generally determined by how long it has waisted away or if it has reached a certain disintegrating phase (an example would be a half-life). By learning how long a fossils minerals and dead cells have wasted away biologists can learn how old a fossil is relative to a period or our own time on earth.
Can you determine exact dates for the history of earths history by rock layers?
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What are the differences between relative and absolute age of rock layers?
The relative age of something is its age in comparison to the ages of other things. Geologists determine the relative ages of rocks and other structures by examining their places in a sequence. For example, if layers of sedimentary rock are offset by a fault, which is a break in earth's surface, you know that the layers had to be there before a fault could cut through them. The relative age of the rocks is older than the relative age of a fault. Relative age determination doesn't tell you anything about the age of the rock layers in actual years. You only know that it's younger than the layers below it and older than the fault cutting through it.
How are absolute dating and relative dating alike?
Short Answer:Both relative dating and absolute dating are tools used to give temporal characteristics to a sequence of events. Both are attempting to get information on the history of events.Tools like radiometric dating allow some samples to be assigned a certain age to within some accuracy. Assigning a certain age or date is a form of absolute dating.Relative dating is a scientific process of evaluation used to determine the relative order of past events, but does not determine the absolute age of an object.Long Answer:Sciences such as geology, paleontology and archeology are very interested in identifying the age of objects found and these scientists sometimes use either relative dating or absolute dating to characterize the age of the objects they study.Before radiometric dating it was difficult to determine the actual age of an object. Radiometric dating, based on known rates of decay of radioactive isotopes in objects, allows a specific age of an object to be determined to some degree of accuracy.Relative dating is a scientific process of evaluation used to determine the relative order of past events, but does not determine the absolute age of an object. The circumstances of the object may allow one to say that one object is older than another without being able to assign a particular age to the objects.For example:If an archaeologist is studying past civilizations, the archaeologist may be able to say that in a particular location the ruins of once civilization were found to have been build on another and so the layers unearthed in an excavation convey the sequence of historical occupations without revealing the actual dates.Similarly for paleontologists who find layers of fossils. By deducing which fossils are formed in the sequence of time, the periods when the particular fossilized entities existed can be arranged in order without the actual dates of when the fossils were laid down.For geologists, it is similar. Looking at how rock formations are structured, a geologist may be able to say which rock was developed in which layer in a particular order but not be able to determine that actual geologic age of the layers.
What is a Method in which a scientist could use fossils to determine the age of the soil in which the fossils were found?
There are several ways of identifying the age of fossils.Stratigraphic MethodLiterally counting the layers or strata of the rock. If you can determine the age of one layer then on most occasions you can count the number of layers down.Also connected with stratification is Magnetic Stratigraphy. It is thought that Earths magnetic field reverses every 300,000 years (although it is estimated this last happened 780,000 years ago). When certain sedimentary and volcanic layers are laid down elements in the rock align with Earths magnetic field. As you go down the layers of rock you can measure which way the elements are aligned and thus determine the age.Radiometric MethodCertain radioactive elements can be used to date fossils. Volcanic rock has no lead when it is laid down. However it does contain Uranium. If you compare the ration between U-235 and Pb-207 accurate dates can be determined. Also important is potassium and argon. Ratio's between K-40 and Ar-40 can determine the age of the fossil.If the fossil is very young (less than 60,000 years) Carbon 14 can also be used. So called carbon dating.Index MethodCertain animals and plants were wide spread on earth. We also through other methods have determined accurate dates for these index fossils. If you find an index fossil in the same layer as a fossil you can tell the age.
How can fossils be used to date rocks?
Geologists look for index fossils in the sedimentary rock to help determine its age. Index fossils are of organisms that were widespread and only existed during a specific slice of geologic time. Finding an index fossil in a rock means that the rock dates to that specific slice of time.
What two types of dating techniques are used in dating fossils?
Body fossils and trace fossils are the principal types of evidence about ancient life, and geochemical evidence has helped to decipher the evolution of life before there were organisms large enough to leave fossils. Estimating the dates of these remains is essential but difficult: sometimes adjacent rock layers allow radiometric dating, which provides absolute dates that are accurate to within 0.5%, but more often paleontologists have to rely on relative dating by solving the "jigsaw puzzles" of biostratigraphy.Classifying ancient organisms is also difficult, as many do not fit well into the Linnean taxonomy that is commonly used for classifying living organisms, and paleontologists more often use cladistics to draw up evolutionary "family trees". The final quarter of the 20th century saw the development of molecular phylogenetics, which investigates how closely organisms are related by measuring how similar the DNA is in their genomes. Molecular phylogenetics has also been used to estimate the dates when species diverged, but there is controversy about the reliability of the molecular clock on which such estimates depend.
Applying the law of superposition dates can be determined?
By applying the law of superposition, relative dates can be determined. This law states that in any undisturbed sequence of rocks deposited in layers, the youngest layer is on top and the oldest is on the bottom.
