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Carbon dating

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Q: What kind of dating is done by using radioactive decay?
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How is radiosotope-dating done?

you measure the breakdown of radioactive substances (like carbon 14) and compare decay product % to radioactive %'s


Why are the relative and absolute ages so important to a scientist in geology?

It is quicker and can be done in the field for a quick age referencing of a rock sample.


What must be done to ensure DNA in a laboratory is radioactive?

Incorporating radioactive nucleotides must be done to ensure that DNA made in a laboratory is radioactive.


How can you say that radioactive decay is random unless you know that the nuclides are identical in the first place?

Radioactive decay is a random event. But we can assess it by statistical analysis of a large number of decay events across time for a given radionuclide. Standard stastical analysis ideas apply. The way we know that it is the radionuclide we specify is that we refine the sample chemically. Then we look at the decay mode. If it is a situation where there is particle emission, we can identify the particle and the energy it comes out at. If its electromagnetic, we can specify an energy associated with the photon. The mode of decay and the energy cast off are the ways we can insure our "count" of the decay events specifically targets the radionuclide we are investigating. That and the applied chemistry we specified to clean up the sample. We're good at this radioactive decay thing. We can count even a very few decay events, and do so accurately across time (though more is better). And because we've done our homework as regards type of decay and energies, we know what it is that is decaying, and how long it is taking to decay. We can arrive at a half-life for a given radionuclide. A link can be found below.


How can an age of a material be determined through carbon dating?

Radiocarbon dating is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. Measurement of radiocarbon was originally done by beta-counting devices, which counted the amount of beta radiation emitted by decaying 14 C atoms in a sample.


Why are half lives useful to an archeologist?

The half-life of radioactive material is useful for radioactive dating. For example, All organisms on earth have a given concentration of carbon-14. Since carbon-14 has a half life of 5700 years, scientists can fairly estimate the lifespan of an organism based on its carbon-14 content. This is done by measuring the amount of carbon-14 left from its (previously calculated in a lab) initial amount. If there is exactly a quarter of the initial amount of carbon-14 left in an organism, then it is safe to assume that the organism is 11400 years old. This is why the half-life of a radioactive material is useful for radioactive dating.


Why do you need to have a radon test done when you buy or sell a home in pennsylvannia?

Radon originates from Uranium 238, a radioactive element. Almost anywhere in the world you can find some radioactive Uranium 238 in the soil. Pennsylvania in particular has a lot of it. Radioactive simply means that the element or atom gives off energy which may a solid particle and changes into a different element. During this radioactive decay the releases of energy causes varying amounts of damage to whatever surrounds it.


How do scientist determine the age of the solar system?

Relative Dating:The dating of fossils was originally done by their placement in a geologic column of rock strata. Because of the Law of Superposition, the deeper the stratum, the older it is (in an undisturbed body of rock or sediment). Fossils which were evident in a particular stratum, but missing from other strata were noted as "index" fossils. The presence of these fossils indicated the age of the stratum relative to other layers. The layers of stratum were placed in a geologic column, subdivided, and assigned names based on the presence of different types of fossil organisms. The use of fossils in this manner is known as biostratigraphy and is the basis of "relative dating" of rock layers and fossils, a dating technique that was in effect until the advent of radiometric techniques in the twentieth century.Absolute Dating:Radiometric dating of rock involves the measurement of the amount of decay in radioactive elements which are present in the rock. Radioactive elements decay at unique rates, depending on the isotope. This rate of decay is known as half-lives, it is the time necessary for ½ of the atoms to decay in a particular element. The decay follows a geometric scale, in that in the first half-life of an element, ½ of the atoms decay, yet in the second half-life, ½ of those remaining decay and so forth. By measuring this decay, and knowing the half life of an element, scientists can date a sample. Radiometric dating is particularly useful in dating igneous and metamorphic rock.Because of geologic events such as plate tectonics and volcanism, suitable material for radiometric dating, such as volcanic tuff, solidified lava, and igneous intrusions have been found as layers on, in, and cut through layers of sedimentary rock. Intrusions are always younger than the rock body they penetrate, meaning that the sedimentary rock in which intrusions are found will be older than a radiometrically dated sample of the intrusion. Lava flows and volcanic ash which form layers in rock will be younger than the rock below and older than the rock above. The solidified intrusions and lava flows can be dated with radiometric techniques.The radiometric dating of suitable rocks (i.e. igneous or metamorphic) in proximity to their sedimentary counterparts, therefore allows the sedimentary rock to be dated as well.


How does radioactivity allow us to estimate the Earth's age?

Radioactive or radiometric dating allows us to estimate the Earth's age by giving us the actual age of rock within a range of several million years. Radiometric dating is based on the scientific law of radioactive decay and the half-life of radioactive elements. Uranium and some other elements decay into lead over time at a specific rate. Knowing the content of these elements in the makeup of a rock allows its age to be calculated. Currently, the oldest rocks of Earth origin are estimated to be over 4 billion years old.


A technique used in absolute dating?

Method of determining the age of a mineral that utilizes the damage done by the spontaneous fission of uranium-238, the most abundant isotope of uranium. In geology and archaeology, the process of determining an object's or event's place within a chronological scheme.


How do scientist find the absolute age of a rock?

Radioisotopes are used by scientists to date rocks in a method called radiometric dating. The isotopes of an element are the atoms that have the same number of protons and electrons but different numbers of neutrons. When atoms of a radioactive isotope are included in the formation of a crystal, that crystal becomes the parent isotope. As the isotopes begin to decay, they become a daughter isotope. The convenient property of this phenomenon is that a certain parent isotope will ALWAYS decay to a certain daughter isotope. The rate of decay from parent to daughter isotope is called the half-life (time for half of the parent to become the daughter). Being familiar with and using isotopes such as Uranium-238, Uranium-235, and Carbon-14, scientists are able to calculate the age of a rock, fossil, etc. using the known half-life for each parent isotope.


Which type of dating provides an absolute age for a given fossil describe how this is done?

I think it's Radioactive dating, I've been reading for my homework and I can't seem to find carbon dating anywhere in the chapter which I've reread about 3 times so I'm going to assume its radioactive because relative dating is the estimation of a fossils age compared with other fossils.