Question
click below
click below
Question
Normal Size Small Size show me how
8Sci_RadiometricDati
Radiometric Dating (Tabat-2014)
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Which radioactive element would geologists most likely use to accurately calculate a 10,000 year old fossil's age? | carbon-14 with a half life of 5,700 years |
Radioactive dating is used to study which element in igneous and metamorphic rocks? | uranium |
Which method of radioactive dating would be used in determining the age of a human fossil? | carbon-14 |
If the half-life of potassium-40 is 1.3 billion years and an igneous rock is found with 25% potassium-40, what is the absolute age of this rock? | 2.6 billion years |
What method do scientists most often use in determining the age of the Earth? | they compare the amount of uranium and the amount of lead formed in radioactive dating of rock layers |
Why is uranium used in radioactive dating? | it is a mildly radioactive substance that breaks down at a slow and steady pace which cannot be altered by temperature or pressure |
Why does carbon-14 dating help scientists determine the approximate time a species became extinct? | carbon-14 decreases at a constant rate over time |
Why is radioactive decay useful to scientists? | it is used to determine age of rocks because decay occurs at a constant rate |
What is true about different isotope pairs used for radiometric dating? | they have different rates of decay |
What is half-life? | the amount of time it takes for 1/2 of the radioactive isotope in a rock to decay |
What is the radioactive isotope considered to be in rocks? | the parent isotope |
What is it when radioactive elements release excess energy and decay into a more stable element? | the daughter isotope |
What are isotopes? | atoms of the same element that have different atomic weights such as oxygen-18 and oxygen-16 |
What are unstable isotopes usually? | radioactive |