What are the differences between relative and absolute age of rock layers?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

The geologic age of a fossil organism, rock, or geologic feature or event defined relative to other organisms, rocks, or features or events rather than in terms of years.

Short Answer:

Relative age 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 or date of an event.

Both relative dating and absolute dating are complimentary tools tools used to assign 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.

The primary difference is that absolute dating assigns an actual time or age to an event or object. Relative dating simply says one is older than the other but no age is specified.

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. If the archaeologist finds a sample suitable for carbon dating, then an absolute date may be assigned to an object.

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. Radioactive isotopes can also be used by a paleontologists to assign an age to a fossil in some cases and that is an example of absolute dating with radiometric methods.

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 deal with the oldest of samples and radiometric dating with uranium is one of the few methods of absolute dating.
Relative dating is when you find the exact date of the rock layer.

Relative ( no pun intended ) to your locality.

Answer 3

Relative age of rock layers is determined by their position in relation to other layers, such as which layer is older or younger. Absolute age is determined using radiometric dating techniques to calculate the actual age in years of a rock layer. Relative age provides a chronological order, while absolute age provides a specific age in years.

Answer 4

It's age compared to the ages of other rocks.

Answer 5

welll dating rocks for a start is bad. they cheat on you and everything they are right rascals

Answer 6

The differences between relative and absolute age of rock layers is that relative age only shows that a rock is older or younger and doesn't give the absolute age.