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Dating Techniques

In the text we briefly mention a few ways in which researchers determine the age of fossils. This Virtual Exploration provides some additional information about these processes. Explore the following websites and then take a quiz on dating methods.

Geologic Time
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/paleo/geotime/main/index.html
Scroll down to the "Foundational Concepts" bar, click on "dating methods," and read the material on the three types of dating techniques (absolute, relative, and paleomagnetic).

Dating Techniques
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/dating/

Waikido C14 Carbon Dating Laboratory
http://www.c14dating.com/

Think about: Why is it useful to researchers to have a range of dating techniques available?

1
Biostratigraphy is an absolute dating technique based on the age of key fossils.
A)True
B)False
2
The principle of faunal succession was an eighteenth-century discovery that provided early evidence for evolution.
A)True
B)False
3
Carbon 14 decays too rapidly to be useful as a geologic clock.
A)True
B)False
4
The oldest dated rocks on Earth are approximately 4.6 billion years old.
A)True
B)False
5
Dendrochronology is an absolute dating technique based on tree rings.
A)True
B)False
6
Radiocarbon, or C-14 dating has been used to date hominoid fossils up to 2 million years old.
A)True
B)False
7
The radiocarbon method has been used to date rock samples.
A)True
B)False
8
Racemization, a dating method based on amino acids, is useful but still controversial.
A)True
B)False
9
Some fossils are dated based on the absolute date of the rock layer in which they are found.
A)True
B)False
10
The principle of superposition states that younger rock layers are found above older rock layers.
A)True
B)False







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