Name: J’Kayla Anderson Period: 3

Relative and Absolute Dating

 

The Law of Superposition

 In any undisturbed sequence of strata, the oldest layer is  

 at the bottom of the sequence, and the
youngest layer is at the top of the sequence.

The Cross-Cutting Law

Any feature that cuts across a body of sediment or rock is younger than the body of sediment or rock
that it cuts across.
NOTE:

                                                 
 
● An intrusion is any rock that intrudes into another rock.
● A fracture is a crack in rock.
●  A fault is a fracture along which movement has occurred.
 
 
  
 
 
The Law of Inclusions
If one rock body contains fragments of another rock body it must be younger than the fragments of
rock it contains. OR…The inclusions are older than the rocks which contain them.

        

Telling Relative Time

Use the laws of superposition, inclusions and cross-cutting relationships to determine the relative
ages of the following cross-sections. Determine the OLDEST bed FIRST

1. B,A,C.  C is the oldest, A is in the middle, and B is the youngest.

 2. A,D,C,B,E. A is the earliest youngest, D is the second youngest, C is in the middle, E is
the second oldest, and B is the oldest.

3. A, B, D, E, C.
 
 
Outline the sequence of events in the cross sections below by numbering each rock unit or event
in the order in which it occurred or was deposited.
 

4. H, G, F, E, M, A, D, C, B.

 
 

5. E, I, D, H, B, F, A, C, G.

6. A, D, E, B, C.
 
 
Refer to the cross-section below. For each of the following pairs of rock layers, identify the relative
dating law that would be used to determine which bed was older and which was younger. Circle the
letter of the OLDER bed.

 7.

 
A & B - A inclusion D & M - D crosscutting
 
D & E - D superposition J & K - J Superposition

 8. F, B, K, H, A, J, D, M, H, C, I, G, E.

 
Refer to the cross-section above. For each of the following pairs of rock layers identify the relative
dating law that you used to determine which bed was older and which was younger. Circle the letter
of the YOUNGER bed.
M & A - A crosscutting

J & N - N superposition

H & L - H crosscutting
 
D & M - D superposition
Absolute Dating: Estimating the Age of Fossils
Radiocarbon dating can be used to date organic material from less than 1000 years to as much as
50,000 years in age. Carbon is found in two forms in the atmosphere, carbon-14 and carbon-12.
Carbon-14 is unstable and breaks down to form nitrogen-14 at a fixed rate. The half-life of
carbon-14 is 5,730 years. This means it takes 5,730 years for half of the carbon-14 sample to
break down and form nitrogen-14. Scientists can measure the amount of radioactive decay that
has taken place by calculating the ratio of carbon-14:carbon-12 in the fossil and comparing it to
the atmosphere.
 
Calculate the ages of each of the fossils below using the following steps:
 a.      Determine how many half-lives have passed by using the table below:
 
Amount of C-14 remaining # of half-lives that have passed
½ C-14 1
¼ C-14 2
1/8 C-14 3
1/16 C-14 4
1/32 C-14 5
 
b.      Multiply the number of years in the half-life (5,730) by the number of half-lives
that have passed.
 

 
9. 1/16 of the C-14 remained

A.

                                       AGE: 358.125

10. 1/8 of the C-14 remained

B.

                                        AGE: 716.25

11. 1/32 of the C-14 remained

C.

                                AGE: 179.0625

12. ¼ of the C-14 remained

D.

                                        AGE: 1432.5

13. Which of the above fossils came from which rock layer in the diagram below? Write the latter of the
fossil in the appropriate rock layer.

D- last layer, B- second to last layer, A- third layer above 1st and 2nd, C- top layer above A