Fossil Dating

Relative and
Absolute Dating
HOW DO WE
KNOW THE AGE
OF FOSSILS?

- Scientists use 2
methods to
determine the age of
fossils:
1. Relative Dating
2. Absolute Dating
Relative and Absolute Dating
What is Dating?

 When geologists date rocks, they are

determining how long ago they were
formed.
 Two ways to do this:
Relative Dating
Absolute Dating
 Relative Dating

 Determining how old

something is
compared to
something else
 Use words like
“older” or “younger”
instead of exact
numbers
 I. Relative Dating

 Relative Dating is
when you give the
age of a rock or
fossil compared to
another rock or
fossil.
Example: Rock A is
OLDER than Rock B.
An actual age in years
is not determined.
II. Rules of Relative Dating
1. Law of Superposition: When sedimentary
rock layers are deposited, younger layers
are on top of older deposits.
Rules of Relative Dating
2. Law of Original Horizontality: Sedimentary
rock layers are deposited horizontally. If
they are tilted, folded, or broken, it
happened later.
Rules of Relative Dating
3. Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships: If an
igneous intrusion or a fault cuts through
existing rocks, the intrusion/fault is
YOUNGER than the rock it cuts through
Order these layers from oldest to
youngest

Youngest layer

Oldest layer
Order the events from oldest to youngest
YOUNGEST LAYER/EVENT
Fault
Gray Layer
Multicolored layer
Spotted Layer
OLDEST LAYER/EVENT
Absolute Dating

 Determining how old

something is
 Use numbers (in
millions of years, mya)
 Only works for
Igneous Rocks
Absolute Dating

 Determines the specific age of a fossil

 Looks at chemical properties
 2 types:
Carbon-14 (radiocarbon)
Potassium-Argon
Carbon-14 Dating

 Also known as Radiocarbon dating

 Used to date organic substances
 Scientists measure the radiocarbon in the
fossil to determine its age
 Can only date specimens up to about
60,000 years old
Potassium-Argon Dating

 Scientists determine the age of the rock

surrounding the fossil to determine the
fossil’s age.
 Used only for inorganic substances (rocks
and minerals)
 Scientists measure the amount of argon in
the rock to determine its age
 Dates rock 60,000 years old and older
How Absolute Dating Works
When magma/lava cools, radioactive elements
are incorporated into the minerals
 Examples:
-- Potassium 40
-- Uranium 235
How Absolute Dating Works
These elements begin to decay at a known rate
starting when the rock cools

We can measure how much of the element is

left

Tells us how much time has passed since the

rock formed.
What can we learn from this?
 Geologist

Basalt, dated to 80
mya
 T-Rex Fossil Sandstone

Basalt flow, dated

to 100 mya
So when did this T-Rex live?
Between 100 and 80 mya
This may not seem very accurate, but compared to
the 4,500 million years the earth has been around it
gives us a lot more information than we had before
What can we learn from this?
 Absolute Dating
Helps us determine the age of the earth
Helps us determine when specific events in the
history of the earth happened (ex. Extinction of
the dinosaurs)
 Relative Dating
Can help us estimate the time span between
major earthquakes, storms, tsunamis etc
Can help us determine the order that life forms
developed on earth
QUIZ
Which rock layer is the
oldest? Youngest?

Youngest

Oldest
If you wanted to figure out the
exact age of a rock, what
technique would you use?

a.Relative Dating
b.Carbon-14 Dating
c.Law of Superposition
d.Potassium-Argon Dating
If you were looking to find the
exact age of a fossil that is at
least 1 million years old, what
technique would you use?

a. Carbon-14 Dating
b. Potassium-Argon Dating
c. Relative Dating
d. You can’t; it is impossible
If you wanted to figure out the
exact age of a fossil that is less
than 40,000 years old, what
technique would you use?
a. Carbon-14 Dating
b. Potassium-Argon Dating
c. Relative Dating
d. You can’t; it is impossible