How did the lab activities help you answer the lesson question: How are relative and absolute dating methods used to determine the age of rocks and fossils? What did you learn from conducting this lab?
Answers
Answer:
Sample response: In the lab, I used the law of superposition, the principle of cross-cutting relationships, and index fossils to determine the relative ages of rock layers. Then, I used a mass spectrometer to find the age and identity of an unknown fossil. I learned that radioactive decay can help scientists figure out the age of rocks and minerals. I also learned that dating rock layers and the geologic time scale can help us understand Earth’s history by identifying what was happening to Earth and what lived on Earth when the rock layers were formed.
Explanation:
1.A known aged rock or fossil is used in the relative dating while radio isotopes are used in absolute dating method.
2.Relative dating method:It compares the rock or fossil with similar rocks which age is already known to determine the approximate age for the fossil or rock.
3.Absolute dating method:It use the radio element dating to determine a precise age of rocks and fossils .Therefore, a known aged rock or fossil is used in the relative dating while radio isotopes are used in absolute dating method.
4.We learn from conducting this labknow more about rocks and fossils
Explanation:
1.Dating techniques are procedures used by scientists to determine the age of rocks, fossils, or artifacts. Relative dating methods tell only if one sample is older or younger than another; absolute dating methods provide an approximate date in years.
2.There is no single ideal method of dating that can produce accurate results for every kind of sample, in every context, for every chronology. Each method of dating has constraints around its use and effectiveness.