Earth Science

Quarter 2 – Module 10:

Different Methods of
Determining the Age of
Stratified Rocks
Earth Science
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 10: Different Methods of Determining the Age of Stratified Rocks
First Edition, 2020

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EARTH SCIENCE
Quarter 2 – Module 10:
Different Methods of
Determining the Age of
Stratified Rocks
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the EARTH SCIENCEGrade 11 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)

Module on Lesson10 Week 5 -Different Methods of Determining the Age of Stratified
Rocks)!
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For the learner:

Welcome to the Earth Science Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on (Lesson
10- Different Methods of Determining the Age of Stratified Rocks) !

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 In this portion, another activity will be given
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 What I Need to Know

In this lesson, the learner will describe the different methods of determining the
age of stratified rocks. To achieve this learning competency, the learner should
identify the main difference between the methods.

After going through this lesson, you are expected to:

1. identify the methods of determining the age of stratified rocks

2. distinguish the difference between absolute dating and relative dating
3. apply the methods in determining the age of rocks
4. draw an analogy for stratified rocks

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 What I Know

Directions: Read and analyze the following questions. Choose and write the letter
that best describes the following statements.

1. What do geologists use to figure out if a rock is older or younger than another
rock?
a) Radiometric dating
b) Amino acid dating
c) EM dating
d) Relative dating

2. Which is true about absolute dating?

a) breakdown isotopes
b) arrange the historical remains in order of their ages
c) depends on the traces of radioactive isotopes found in fossils
d) determine the age by comparing the historical remaining to the nearby
layers
3. Which absolute dating technique depends on the traces of radioactive isotopes
found in fossils?
a) Amino acid
b) Radiometric
c) Dendrochronology
d) Thermoluminescence
4. It is the process of breaking down of isotopes.
a) Half-life
b) Isotopes
c) Radioactive decay
d) Radioactive metric dating
5. It is known as atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons
but different numbers of neutron?
a) Isotopes
b) Absolute dating
c) Relative Dating
d) Radioactive Decay

6. What term is used to describe absolute dating?

a) Exact
b) Relevant
c) Close
d) Adjacent
7. Which can be used to show the approximate age of rock?
a) Color
b) Shape
c) Texture
d) Fossil index

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8. In a canyon, where is youngest rock located?
a) Top
b) Side
c) Middle
d) Bottom
9. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a) Rock layers are undisturbed
b) Deposition evenly distribute sediments
c) Layers were there after they were folded
d) Rock layers are older than faults found in them
10. What is a gap in the rock sequence?
a) Fault
b) Break
c) Uplift
d) Unconformity
11. What is the time needed for one-half of the parent atoms to turn into daughter
atoms?
a) Half-life
b) In-behalf
c) Half-way
d) Better-half
12. Which technique uses the half-life of atoms to figure out the age of the rock
layers the atoms are in?
a) Amino acid
b) Radiometric
c) Dendrochronology
d) Thermoluminescence
13. What method has helped scientists to determine the exact age of Earth?
a) Official dating
b) Relative dating
c) Absolute dating
d) Complete dating
14. When does half of the parent atoms turn into daughter atom?
a) Every 10,000 years
b) Every 20,000 years
c) Every 30,000 years
d) Every 40,000 years

15. Which is a good element to use to date fossils and some rock?
a) Carbon
b) Uranium
c) Potassium
d) Phosphorus

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 Lesson Different Methods of
10 Determining the Age of
Stratified Rocks

What’s In

Directions: Analyze the given picture then answer the questions.

1. Draw a stratified rock inside the box.

2. Describe the formation of the rock.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3. Are the layers the same? Why?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Notes to the Teacher

Have the students be guided on their basic needs in
What’s in. Practically, basic necessities like materials
needed in school, at home or personal protective
equipment during such situations.

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 What’s New

A. Analyze at the given illustration then answer the questions.

1. Predict how long it takes you to have this pile of dirty clothes in your
laundry basket.
__________________________________________________________________

2. How are the clothes arranged in the laundry basket?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3. What type of rock is parallel to the arrangement of dirty clothes in the
basket?
___________________________________________________________________

B. Write the exact time you are doing the following activities

1. Doing homework _____________

2. Going to school _____________
3. Eating your lunch _____________
4. Waking up _____________
5. Praying _____________

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 What is It

Geological specimens that are unearthed need to be assigned an appropriate

age. To find their age, two major geological dating methods are used. These are called
relative and absolute dating.

The main difference between absolute and relative dating is that the absolute
dating is a technique to determine the numerical age of a rock or a fossil whereas the
relative dating is a technique that determines the relative age. Furthermore, absolute
dating can be done with the use of radiometric dating while relative age is determined
with respect to other layers.

Absolute dating and relative dating are two techniques used in geology to
evaluate the age and the period of a fossil or rock.(https://pediaa.com/difference-
between-absolute-and-relative-dating)

What is Relative Dating

Relative dating is the technique used to determine the age by comparing the
historical remaining to the nearby layers. It is a less advanced technique when
compared to absolute dating. Some methods used in relative dating are stratigraphy,
biostratigraphy, and cross dating.

1. Stratigraphy: This technique assumes that the lowest layer is the oldest while
the topmost layer is the youngest layer. It is one of the oldest methods of relative
dating.
2. Biostratigraphy: In this technique, the faunal deposits such as fossils of dead
animals are used to establish a strategy for dating. It is an extended version of
the stratigraphy.
3. Cross dating: In this method, the fossils of one layer are compared with another
layer with known dating.

What is Absolute Dating

In geology, absolute dating is a technique that determines the exact numerical
age of a historical remaining. Since it evaluates the exact age of the sample, absolute
ageing is also called numerical dating. The four techniques used in absolute dating
are radiometric dating, amino acid dating, dendrochronology, and thermo
luminescence.
1. Radiometric dating: It determines the age of the sample by measuring the
amount of a particular radioactive isotope present in the sample. The age can be
determined by the rate of decay of that particular isotope. The type of radioactive
isotope used depends on the type of sample. One of the most popular and widely
used types of radioactive isotope in this type of techniques is the carbon-14.
2. Amino acid dating: The change in the protein content of a biological sample can
be used to determine the age. A particular form of a living being may have a
defined protein content in their bodies that deteriorates with time.

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 3. Dendrochronology: The number of annual growth rings of a dicot is used in this
technique to determine the age of the tree.
4. Thermoluminescence: This technique determines the final period during which
the object absorbs light, emitting electrons. The age is determined with respect
to the emissions.
Scientists can learn the age of a rock by counting the number of parent and
daughter atoms. A half-life is the time needed for one-half of the parent atoms to
turn into daughter atoms. Different atoms have different half-lives. Some have half-
lives are more than 4 billion years; others have half-lives of only 6,000 years.
Scientists figure out which atom would be best to use to determine the exact age of
a rock.
The atoms of some chemical elements have different forms, called isotopes.
These break down over time in a process scientists call radioactive decay. Each
isotope is identified with what is called a ‘mass number’.

What’s More

Directions: Use the stratigraphic superposition to list the order of formation of

sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Label each layer from 1 to 5 with 1 as the oldest
and 5 as the youngest.

Directions: Study the table below and use it as basis in determining the exact age
of the parent and daughter atom.

0 10,000 years 20,000 years 30,000 years

Parent isotope 16 mg 8 mg 4 mg 2 mg
Daughter 0 mg 8 mg 12 mg 14 mg
isotope

Parent isotope (mg) Daughter isotope (mg)

Rock forms 20 0
20,000 years
40,000 years

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 What I Have Learned

Directions: Analyze the given description about the methods of determining the age
of rock then classify accordingly.

Quantitative Precision is high Arranges fossils in order

Numerical age Qualitative Expensive & takes time
Less expensive Precision is low Works better for
Works better for igneous sedimentary rocks
and metamorphic rocks

Absolute Dating Relative Dating

What I Can Do

Directions: Analyze the situation then answer the given questions.

A. Your Earth Science teacher asked you to come up with an edible presentation
of stratified rocks. What food can be used as an analogy for stratified rock?
Draw the cross section of your food and label each layer. What technique
assumes that the lowest layer is the oldest while the topmost layer is the
youngest layer?

B. Recall five important events in your life. When does it happen? Write it in
chronological order. What makes it important to know those times in your life?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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 Assessment

Directions: Read and analyze the following questions. Choose and write the letter
that best describes the following statements.
1. What technique explains that the lowest layer is the oldest while the topmost
layer is the youngest layer just like the clothes in the laundry basket?
a) Absolute dating
b) Relative dating
c) Stratigraphy
d) Dendrochronology
2. Which method evaluates the exact age of the sample?
a) Total dating
b) Absolute dating
c) Relative dating
d) Comparative dating
3. Which type of dating method can be used on rock layers by applying the law
of superposition?
a) Relative dating
b) Absolute dating
c) Radioactive dating
d) Radiometric dating
4. Which of the following indicates the relative age of a rock layer?
a) The thickness of the layer
b) The chemical make-up of the rock
c) The distance of the layer over the Earth
d) The position of the layer compared to other layers
5. How can the absolute age of a rock be determined?
a) By comparing the half-life
b) By comparing the samples
c) By measuring it to another ratio
d) By measuring the amount of isotope and calculating the half-lives
passed
6. How many half-lives have passed if a rock contains 25% isotopes and 75%
daughter isotopes?
a) 1 half-life
b) 2 half-lives
c) 3 half-lives
d) 4 half-lives

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7. Which of the following describes relative dating?
a) Precision is high
b) Quantitative extent
c) Arranges fossils in order
d) Works better for metamorphic rocks
8. The half-life of carbon-14 is known to be 5720 years. It is the the most
popular and widely used types of radioactive isotope. Why do you think it is
a good element to use to date fossils and some rock?
a) Shorter half-life means more accurate age
b) The higher the percentage the older the rock.
c) The parent isotopes remain after ten half-lives
d) After another 5720 years, half of that decays
9. Which is true about absolute dating?
a) Precision is low
b) Quantitative measurement
c) Less expensive and efficient
d) Works better for sedimentary rocks
10. Which is true in a series of sedimentary rocks?
a) Upper layer is composed of older rocks
b) Lower layers must be in place before older rocks
c) The bottom layer is the oldest and the top layer is the youngest
d) The bottom layer is the youngest and the top layer is the oldest
11. What happens when the isotopes decay?
a) Parent isotopes become half
b) Parent isotopes become a team
c) Parent isotopes become a parent
d) Parent isotopes become a daughter
12. What is the importance of dating?
a) It determines the age of fossils
b) It identifies the amount of fossils
c) determine the sample of fossils
d) determine the particles in fossils
13. What is the extended version of the stratigraphy?
A. Cross dating
B. Biostratigraphy
C. Amino acid dating
D. Thermoluminescence

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 14. What is the meaning of the statement: you can’t break a rock if it does not
exist?
a) Rock layers are not undisturbed
b) Rock layers are older than faults found in them
c) Igneous intrusions are younger than the rock that they cut through
d) Fossils are generally the same age as the rock layers in which they are
found
15. What can you conclude about relative and absolute dating?
a) Absolute dating arranges the fossils in an order. while relative dating
determines the numerical age
b) Absolute dating compares the age while relative dating arranges the
fossils in an order.
c) Absolute dating is the technique that determines the exact age of a
historical remaining while relative dating gives the order of age of several
samples.
d) Absolute dating is the technique that gives the order of age of several
samples while relative dating determines the exact age of a historical
remaining.

Additional Activities

Congratulations! You have successfully finished Lesson 10. You may now proceed
to Lesson 11. Please do an advance reading on how relative and absolute dating were
used to determine the subdivisions of geologic time scale. Also, recall your elementary
and junior high school discussions on this topic. Good luck in the next level.

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 15
What I Know What's More Assessment
1. D A. 5 1. C
2. B 4 2. B
3. B 3 3. A
4. C 2 4. D
5. B 1 5. D
6. A 6. B
7. D 7. C
20,000 10 10 8. A
8. A
years
9. D 9. B
40,000 5 15 10.C
10.D
11.A years 11.A
12.B 12.A
13.C 13.B
14.A 14.B
15.A 15.C
Answer Key
References

Lakna,Difference Between Absolute and Relative Dating. Retrieved from

https://pediaa.com/difference-between-absolute-and-relative-dating/ on
May 31, 2020

Absolute Dating. Science Learning Hub. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1486-absolute-dating on June
1, 2020

Rock Dating. Retrieved from https://connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us/snonnema/wp-

content/uploads/2015/08/Dating-Powerpoint.pdf on June 1, 2020

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