Relative Age Dating

Front

What is relative age dating?

Back

Relative age dating is the method of determining the age of a rock or fossil in relation to other rocks or fossils, rather than in absolute terms.

Front

What does the law of superposition state?

Back

The law of superposition states that in an undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks, the oldest layers are at the bottom and the youngest layers are at the top.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

What is the law of crosscutting relationships?

Back

The law of crosscutting relationships states that a geological feature (such as a fault or intrusion) that cuts through another feature is younger than the feature it cuts.

Front

How can you determine which rock layer is older?

Back

You can determine which rock layer is older by applying the principles of superposition, crosscutting relationships, and original horizontality.

Front

What is an intrusion in geology?

Back

An intrusion is a body of igneous rock that forms when magma cools and solidifies beneath the Earth's surface.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-3

Front

What is the significance of fossils in relative age dating?

Back

Fossils can help determine the relative ages of rock layers by providing evidence of the organisms that lived during specific geological periods.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

Front

What is the difference between relative age and absolute age?

Back

Relative age is the age of a rock or fossil in comparison to other rocks or fossils, while absolute age is the actual age in years.

Front

What is original horizontality?

Back

The principle of original horizontality states that layers of sediment are originally deposited horizontally under the action of gravity.

Front

How does the presence of a fault affect the age of surrounding rock layers?

Back

A fault is younger than the rock layers it disrupts, indicating that the fault occurred after the formation of those layers.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Front

What is a geological time scale?

Back

A geological time scale is a system of chronological dating that relates geological strata to time, used by geologists and other Earth scientists.