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To tell how old a tree is without cutting it down, scientists drill out a small core of the tree, perhaps a quarter-inch in diameter and as long as the distance to the center of the tree. The y count the rings in the core and thus know the age of the tree.

They have a little thing that they screw into the tree and then they pull it out and look at it and you can see the rings and that's how you tell. This was answered by Joe

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12y ago
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14y ago

One way is to bore out a core sample from the tree, which allows them to take a ring sample without having to cut the whole tree down (the cored-out section is plugged in to prevent permanently damaging the tree).

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15y ago

Counting the rings on the stump. Each ring refers to one year of growth. When a the trunk has been cut, one can usually see rings around it. Count the rings, and the number of rings will be how old the tree is, in years. (A tree typically adds one ring per year)

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12y ago

When a rock crystallises from a melt (igneous) certain radioactively unstable isotopes within the crystals develop at the time of formation. Starting when the melt solidifies these unstable parent isotopes begin to decay into their daughter isotopes. Radiometric/Isotopic dating uses the ratio of parent to daughter isotopes to determine when the rock formed. For example say you have a parent isotope A and it decays into its daughter isotope B and A takes 10000 years to reach its half life, if there is a 50:50 ratio of A:B then the rock is 10000 years old if there is a ratio of 75:25 then 5000 years have passed since its formation from melt and 25:75 then 15000 years have passed. The most common isotopes used are Rubidium:Strontium and Potassium:Argon but there are many others. In metamorphic rocks the parent daughter isotope method can only tell you the time of the metamorphosis not the formation of the original rock. Sedimentary rocks cannot be dated this way, the only dating of this kind that can be carried out on them is Carbon 14 dating and only gives dates as far as 50,000 years ago.

Read more: How_does_the_radioactive_decay_of_isotopes_used_to_determine_the_age_of_rocks

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13y ago

The branches on a fir tree grow in a circle round the trunk.The distance between each ring of branches is one year.

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Q: How can you tell the age of a tree after it has been cut down?
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How do you tell the age of a tree by the rings on the trunk?

You could tell the age of the tree by the rings by counting the rings.The ring equal one year. example: If 500 rings are in the trunk then it will be 500 years.


How old can trees be?

trees don't have to be old to be cut down. in some cases it is illegal to cut down old trees if they are not threatening a building. but if a tree, young or old, is in bad condition and about to fall down it might need to be cut down for safty.


How are the rings made in tree trunk?

Tree rings are circles on the wood of a tree that are laid down each year. You only see them when the tree is cut down. You can tell the age of the tree and what kind of summer it was any given year by counting them.


How do you tell a trees age?

To tell a tree's age, you must first cut it open, by usually cutting off the trunk of the tree or a big branch. Then, if you look at the top of the trunk or branch, you will see numerous (or very little) wobbly rings. Count the number of rings, and that is the age. One ring equals one year of age. If there are forty rings, it is forty years old, and so forth.


How do you tell the age of a tree?

Determining the age of a tree is fairly easy. It involves simply counting the growth rings that can be seen on the surface of a log or on an increment core from the trunk of a tree. Each ring represents the growth produced during one growing season but contains two parts that can be distinguished on the basis of color: the early wood, less dense, is whitish in color; and the late wood, more dense, is darker in color and forms during the summer. Counting the growth rings tells us the number of growing seasons the tree has been through, and hence the age of the tree. Some tree's have quite allot of rings!!

Related questions

How can you tell the age of a tree after its been harvested?

Could the rings on the inside of the tree, the more rings, the older it is.


How do scientist know age of tree without cutting it down?

They count the rings in the tree trunk after it has been cut.


How can we tell how old a tree a rock and a horse is?

1. The age of a tree can be determined by counting the annual rings (cambiam rings in dicotledons). 2. The age of a horse is determined by the number of teeth 3.The age of rocks can be determined by carbon dating.


How can you tell the age of a tree after it has been cut downw?

The number of rings on the tree stump, i believe one ring is one year?


How can you tell the age of a PALM tree?

palm tree don't have ring


What can you tell from the slice of a tree trunk?

the tree's age, if it was lacking water and stuff.


Why can foresters estimate the age of trees based on the diameter of the stem trunk?

Foresters can tell you the age of a tree based on the diameter of the trunk based on past years of rain fall. They then look to see ages of trees that have been cut down and do the rest of the math after.


How do you tell the age of a tree by the rings on the trunk?

You could tell the age of the tree by the rings by counting the rings.The ring equal one year. example: If 500 rings are in the trunk then it will be 500 years.


How does one tell the age of a tree?

One can tell the age of a tree by cutting a part of a tree and then counting the rings as a tree produces a two-colored ring per year, a light spring portion and a dark summer portion.


What have tree rings been used to measure?

The age of a tree.


What are the rings on the top section of a tree trunk?

the rings on the top section of a tree trunk tell the age of the tree


What is the name of the method which helps us to tell the age of the tree?

Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating .