Radiometric Dating

Front

What is Radiometric Dating?

Back

A method used to date materials such as rocks or carbon by comparing the abundance of a radioactive isotope to its decay products.

Front

What is a half-life?

Back

The time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay.

Front

How many half-lives have passed if 75% of the original radioactive atoms remain?

Back

1 half-life.

Front

If a sample has a half-life of 5,730 years, how much of the original sample remains after 17,190 years?

Back

3.125% of the original sample.

Front

What are isotopes?

Back

Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Front

How does Carbon-14 dating work?

Back

It measures the amount of Carbon-14 remaining in a sample to estimate its age, based on its known half-life.

Front

What is the difference between absolute age and relative age?

Back

Absolute age is the actual age of a rock or fossil in years, while relative age is the age of a rock compared to other rocks.

Front

If you start with 64 grams of a radioactive isotope, how much will remain after 2 half-lives?

Back

16 grams.

Front

What happens to the amount of a radioactive isotope over time?

Back

It decreases exponentially as it decays into stable isotopes.

Front

What is the significance of the decay curve in radiometric dating?

Back

It shows the relationship between the remaining amount of a radioactive isotope and time.