RELATIVE AND

ABSOLUTE DATING
 Learning Competencies & Targets
 Describe how layers of rocks (stratified rocks) are formed
 Describe the different methods (relative and absolute dating) of
determining the age of stratified rocks
 Explain how relative and absolute dating were used to determine
the subdivisions of geologic time
 I can be grateful that all of the changes that happened in the
history of Earth allowed our species to exist
  Guide Questions:
1. How did the group of
geologists/archeologists/researchers
discover such wonders?
2. What is the importance of such
discovery at present and/or in the
future? How do you explain this
phrase, “the present is the key to the
past”?
3. Looking at the picture of the rock
Rock strata near Depot Beach, New South Wales, Australia
D.M. Vernon formation, which if the layers were
https://www.britannica.com/science/stratum-geology formed first? Which one is formed
the most recent?
How Layers of Rocks (Stratified Rocks) are
Formed

 three main reasons why layering of rocks are

formed:
1.crustal movement
2.distortion of terrains
3.displacement of soils.
As you can see from the diagram, stratified rocks are
products of the sedimentary processes, which
include weathering and erosion of preexisting rocks,
producing sediments that will be transported by wind,
water, or ice into depositional basins such as the sea,
where it will undergo compaction and lithification into
a sedimentary rock. These sedimentary rocks
normally form layers or stratifications, which
represent periods of deposition of sediments.
Stratification is the layering that occurs in most
sedimentary rocks and in those igneous
rocks formed at the Earth’s surface, as from lava
flows and volcanic fragmental deposits. The
layers range from several millimeters to many
meters in thickness and vary greatly in shape.
 Rock and Fossil Dating
 Geologic time covers the whole sweep of Earth’s history, from how and
when the earth first formed, to everything that has happened on, in, and to
the planet since then, right up to now.
 Prior to the invention of methods to see the precise age of materials,
geologists relied on their keen observational skills to see the precise the
sequence during which events happened.
 To determine the geologic time or ages of stratified rocks in particular,
geologists uses two different analysis/methods: relative dating and
absolute dating.
 Rock and Fossil Dating
Relative dating is the process of determining if one rock or
geologic event is older or younger than another, without knowing
their specific ages. This can be done in two ways, first is using
the stratigraphic principles proposed by Nicolas Steno and the
theory of unconformity as advanced by James Hutton of
Scotland.
https://slideplayer.com/slide/5277384/ https://hu.pinterest.com/pin/385480049329222489/
 Relative versus Absolute Time
Relative Time Event/Activity Absolute Time
Oldest (1) Wake up 7:00 am
(2) Coffee/Milk/Breakfast 7:30 am
(3) Shower and Grooming 8:00 am
(4) Online Class 9:00 am
(5) Dinner 7:00 pm
Most recent (6) Sleep 10:00 pm
 Absolute dating is the method used to determine
the numerical values or ages to mineral grains
within a rock. Absolute dating methods determine
how much time has passed since rocks formed by
measuring the radioactive decay of isotopes or the
effects of radiation on the crystal structure of
minerals.
 Paleomagnetism measures the ancient orientation
of the Earth's magnetic field to help determine the
age of rocks. Isotopes are atoms of the same
element that have the same number of protons but
different numbers of neutrons. Most isotopes are
stable and will stay in their original form. However,
there are unstable isotopes that decay into another
forms in order to achieve stability. Scientists call
them radioactive isotopes.
 These isotopes tend to break down into stable isotopes
of the same or other elements at a steady state. This
means that occasionally the unstable isotope will
change its number of protons, neutrons, or both. This
change is called radioactive decay. For example,
unstable 14C transforms to stable nitrogen (14N). The
atomic nucleus that decays is called the parent isotope.
The product of the decay is called the daughter
isotope. In the example, 14C is the parent and 14N is the
daughter.
 Measuring isotopes is particularly useful for dating
igneous and some metamorphic rock, but not
sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rock is made of
particles derived from other rocks, so measuring
isotopes would date the original rock material, not
the sediments they have ended up in. However, there
are radiometric dating methods that can be used on
sedimentary rock, including luminescence dating.
 Some minerals in rocks and organic matter (e.g., wood,
bones, and shells) can contain radioactive isotopes. The
abundances of parent and daughter isotopes in a sample
can be measured and used to determine their age.
Because the radioactive decay or half-life occurs at a
steady rate, scientists use and compare the relative
amount of parent isotope with the amount of daughter
material to date an object. Hence, the more daughter
material there is, the older the rock is. This method is
known as radiometric dating.
 The table on the next slide shows characteristics of
some common radiometric dating methods.
Geologists choose a dating method that suits the
materials available in their rocks. There are over 30
radiometric methods available.

 You may open this link for the simulation of half-life,

http://physics.bu.edu/~duffy/HTML5/halflife.html.
Dating method Material dated Age range dated
Carbon-14 to nitrogen-14 Organic remains, Up to 60,000 years ago
(radiocarbon) archaeological artifacts

Luminescence (optically or Tephra, loess, lake sediments Up to 100,000 years ago

thermally stimulated) (quartz, feldspar, stone tools,
pottery)

Fission track Tephra; Uranium-bearing 10,000 to 400 million years ago

minerals and glasses

Potassium-40 to Argon-40 Volcanic rocks; Potassium- 20,000 to 4.5 billion years ago
bearing minerals and glasses

Uranium-238 to Lead-206 Volcanic rocks; Uranium- 1 million to 4.5 billion years ago
bearing minerals
 Glossary for Absolute Dating
 absolute dating: Determining the number of years that have elapsed
since an event occurred or the specific time when that event
occurred
 daughter isotope: The isotope that forms as a result of radioactive
decay
 half-life: The amount of time it takes for half of the parent isotopes
to radioactively decay to daughter isotopes
 isotopes: Varieties of the same element that have the same number
of protons, but different numbers of neutrons
 Glossary for Absolute Dating
 paleomagnetism: Remnant magnetization in ancient rocks that
records the orientation of the earth's magnetic field and can be
used to determine the location of the magnetic poles and the
latitude of the rocks at the time the rocks were formed
 parent isotope: The atomic nucleus that undergoes radioactive
decay
 radioactivity (radioactive): An unstable isotope spontaneously
emits radiation from its atomic nucleus
 Glossary for
Absolute Dating
 paleomagnetism
 Glossary for Absolute Dating
 radioactive decay: The process by which unstable isotopes
transform to stable isotopes of the same or different elements by a
change in the number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus
 radiocarbon dating: Radiometric dating technique that uses the
decay of 14C in organic material, such as wood or bones, to
determine the absolute age of the material
 radiometric dating: Determination of the absolute age of rocks and
minerals using certain radioactive isotopes