Question

______________ can be used to date fossils in rocks to give an approximate age

Answer 1

Radiometric dating can be used to date fossils in rocks to give an approximate age.

It is done by exploiting the decay rate of a radioactive isotope. Radioactive atoms in general are stable, however, with time they decay into stable daughter atoms. This decay is measured in order to estimate the age of fossils.

There can be two ways of doing it- Relative dating and Absolute dating.

----Relative dating is the process to estimating the age of a fossil by comparing it to similar fossils or rocks of the same age.

----Absolute dating is the process in which the fossils or the rocks associated with it are measured directly.