Earth Science

In this discussion: Now, let’s discuss further how this two differ,
1.You will learn about the methods used to Relative Dating is determining which fossil or event
determine the age of rocks: came first, second, third, etc.
 The Relative Method Absolute Dating is determining the actual age of rocks
 The Absolute Dating Method using radioactive decay.
2. You will also learn how these methods help

geologist in determining the subdivisions of the geologic
When we say the “The trilobite fossil is older than the
time.
dinosaur tooth fossil”, this is relative.
Learning Competencies:
But when we say “the trilobite fossil is 489 million years
1. Describe the different methods used (relative old”, that’s absolute.
and absolute dating) to determine the age of
Let’s take a look at these two cars:
stratified rocks.
2. Explain how relative and absolute dating were The red car and the silver car. When we say the red car
used to determine the subdivision of the costs 90 000 dollars and the silver car costs 15 dollars,
geologic time. this is absolute but when we say the red car is more
expensive than the silver car, this one is relative.
In determining the age of rocks, these two methods are

Q1: Have you ever wondered how we were able to
also used. When the geologists says that “This layer is
know what happened thousands or millions or even
225 million years old”, this one is an absolute dating.
billion years ago?
But when the geologist says that “This layer is older
That was the time when the technologies we have
than this layer”, this one is relative dating.
today are not yet available and even humans do not
exist yet. Now, you see the difference between the two.
Q2: But how did geologists come up with the Absolute Dating is determined through radioactive
records of the past events? decay while Relative Dating through geologic sequence.
The determination of relative ages of rocks are based on

the following principle:
Determining the age of stratified rocks using two
methods the: 1.The Law of Superposition
 Relative Dating Method States that each layer of sediments is piled on

 Absolute Dating method top of another layer making the one on top of the strata
the youngest one, while the layer at the bottom of the
Help geologists know the sequence of age in geologic
strata as the oldest.
time.
As you can see in the illustration, an example of the
stratified rocks following the Law of Superposition is
Now, what is the difference between these two found in the Grand Canyon.
methods?
Relative Dating is a method of determining the age of

rocks in each layer by identifying the relative order of
previous events.
Absolute Dating however, is a method of determining

the numerical age of rocks using the radioactive decay.
Next,
2.The Law of Cross-Cutting Relationship DETERMINING ABSOLUTE DATING OF ROCKS
States that an igneous intrusion is always In Absolute Dating, the most common way of
younger than the rock it cuts across. determining the absolute age of rocks is through
radioactive dating or radioactive isotopes found in
A lava that cooled and hardened in the surface is called
fossils or rocks are used.
an EXTRUSION.
Carbon-14 is used to determine the age of fossils. While
The strata beneath the extrusion are always older.
uranium-238 for rocks.
While the magma that cooled and hardened beneath
For example, uranium 238 will take 4.5 billion years for
the surface is called an INTRUSION.
half the amount of it to decay into a daughter isotope
An igneous intrusion is always younger than the rock it Lead-206 (Pb-206)
has intruded.
Radioactive Decay
This is also true to faults.
The process by which an atomic nucleus of an
Fault, a break on the Earth’s crust is always younger unstable atom loses energy.
than the stratified rocks that it cuts.
Half- Life
3.Law of Inclusion
Refers to the period of time it takes for a
The rocks that mixed up in the formation of substance undergoing decay to decrease by half.
sediments are called INCLUSIONS>
Radioactive isotope, called parent isotope are unstable
These rocks are always older than the layer of and gradually decays in a fixed rate into a daughter
sediments it is embedded. isotope which is more stable.
The pebbles in this conglomerate are older than the In the illustration, is another isotope of Uranium, the U-
conglomerate itself. 235 which has a half life of 700 million years and decays
into a stable isotope Lead-208(Pb 208).
4.Faunal Succession
Since the rates of decay of radioactive isotope are
Fossils of plants and animals are grouped known, it can be used to determining the age of rocks
according to the period of geologic time they appeared. by measuring the proportion of parent and daughter
Strata containing those group of fossils are also formed isotopes present in rocks.
in that particular period of time. For example, if a rock is found to contain the same
This becomes the bases of geologists in creating the proportion of U-238 and Lead-206, geologists can tell
geologic time scheme. that the age of rocks is about 4.5 billion years old.
Since some rocks on Earth’s surface were found in

different timeline, other isotopes with a different rate of
5.Law of Original Horizontally decay are used like potassium-40 (K-40) with a half of
Layers of sediments are originally deposited 1.251 billion years and U-235 with a half-life of 700
horizontally. Those strata that are found not in million years.
horizontal order may have been deformed by the Carbon-14 with a half-life of 5,730 years is also used in
movement of the Earth’s crust. dating remains of plants and animals. This is called
CARBON DATING.
DETERMINING THE SUBDIVISION OF GEOLOGIC TIME However, the early geologic time scale only showed the
USING RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE DATING order of events. It did not show the actual years that
events happened.
To get more accurate age of rocks, geologists both used
the relative and absolute dating for comparison and With the discovery of radioactivity in the 1800s,
verification. scientists were able to measure the exact age in years of
different rocks.
Determining the age of sedimentary rocks using U-238
and K-40 sometimes leads to the age of its component The Jurassic period, of course after Triassic period and
rocks, the metamorphic and igneous rocks, not the age before the Cretaceous period and spans the time from
of sediment accumulation. about 205 million years ago to about 142 million years
ago.
That is why geologists uses other radioactive isotope
like Carbon-14 to date the age of the fossils and the Relative time is the physical subdivision of the rocks
sediments through the process of called: found in the Earth’s geology and the time of order of
events they represent.
LUMINESCENCE DATING
And that ends our lesson………………………………………………
A process that measures the quantity of emitted
light from energy stored in a rock.
The clues in rocks have scientists put together a picture

of how places on Earth have changed.
Scientists noticed in the 1700s and 1800s that similar

layers of sedimentary rocks all over the world contain
similar fossils. They used relative dating to order the
rock layers from oldest to youngest.
They saw that the fossils in older rocks are different

from the fossils in younger rocks.
For example, older rock layers contained only reptile

fossils but younger rock layers may also contain
mammal fossils.
Scientists divided Earth’s history into several chunks of

time when the fossils showed similar things living on the
Earth.
They gave each time chunk of time a name to help them

keep track of how Earth has changed.
For example, one chunk of time when may dinosaurs

lived is called the JURASSICS.
We find fossils of Earth’s first green plants from the

chunk of time named the Ordovician.
Ordering the rock layers from oldest to youngest was a

first step in creating the geologic times scale. It should
the order in which life on Earth changed. It also showed
us how certain areas changed over time in regard to
climate or type of environment.

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In this discussion: Now, let’s discuss further how this two differ,

2. You will also learn how these methods help

In determining the age of rocks, these two methods are

The determination of relative ages of rocks are based on

 Relative Dating Method States that each layer of sediments is piled on

Relative Dating is a method of determining the age of

Absolute Dating however, is a method of determining

Since some rocks on Earth’s surface were found in

The clues in rocks have scientists put together a picture

Scientists noticed in the 1700s and 1800s that similar

They saw that the fossils in older rocks are different

For example, older rock layers contained only reptile

Scientists divided Earth’s history into several chunks of

They gave each time chunk of time a name to help them

For example, one chunk of time when may dinosaurs

We find fossils of Earth’s first green plants from the

Ordering the rock layers from oldest to youngest was a

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