Age of the Earth

Sheena Robiniol
 Age of the Earth
There are two major ways to date geologic events:
1. Relative Dating
a. Stratified rocks
b. Fossils
2. Absolute Dating
a. Radioactive dating
b. Fossils
Relative dating
- this is a method showing the sequence of
events. This method tells how old a rock is
compared to surrounding rocks.
- this type of dating does not give an exact age
of rock.
During the mid 1600’s, Nicholas Steno studied
the relative positions of sediments in
sedimentary rocks. He found out that the
sequence of solid particles that settled on the
seabed was determined by weight. The largest or
heavies are settled first, the smallest or lightest
settled last. This results in the formation of strata.
The basic principles considered by geologists in
relating rocks to Earth history:
1. Principle of supersposition
2. Principle of original horizontality
3. Principle of cross-cutting relationships
4. Principle of inclusions
1. Principle of superposition
- this principle states that in an undisturbed
sequence of stratified rocks, each layer is older
than the one above it and younger than the one
below it.
2. Principle of original horizontality
- states that sediments are deposited in flat
layers. Thus, if the rock still maintains its
horizontal layers, it means that it is not yet
disturbed and still has its original horizontality
3. Principle of cross-cutting relationships
- states that when a fault or a dike (a slab or
rock that cuts through another rock), or when
magma intrudes to the rock, the fault or magma
is younger than the rock
4. Principle of inclusion
- states that a rock mass that contains pieces
of rocks, called inclusions, are younger than the
other rock masses
Principle of unconformities
- states that rock layers that formed without
interrupption are conformable (rocks have an
unbroken sequence of strata/layer of rocks)
Unconformity is a buried erosional or non-
depositional surface separating two rock masses
or strata of different ages, indicating that
sediment deposition was not continuous.
 Types of Unconformities
1. Disconformity
- Describes a sedimentary layer that is deposited over
an eroded horizontal sedimentary layer
2. Angular unconformity
- describes a sedimentary layer deposited over an
eroded, tilted, or folded rock.
3. Nonconformity
- describes a sedimentary layer that is deposited over an
eroded igneous or metamorphic rock
Absolute dating
- it is sometimes called numerical dating
- it is use to determines the actual age of the
rock/object using radiometric techniques.
*Most absolute dates for rocks are obtained
with radioactive or radiometric methods.
Radioactive dating
*Scientist often use radioactive isotopes to find
the absolute age of rocks and other materials.
*Atoms of the same element that have a
different number of neutrons are called
isotopes.
*Radioactive isotopes are isotopes that are
unstable and break down into other isotopes by a
process called radioactive decay
*The radioactive isotope is called the parent
isotope, and the stable isotope formed by its
breakdown is called daughter isotope
*Radioactive dating works best with igneous rocks
and metamorphic rocks.
 Fossils
Fossils are the remains of extinct plants and
animals embedded in sedimentary rocks. They
are the most important inclusions for they are
the basic tool in interpreting the geologic past.
The study of fossils is called paleontology.
 Fossil Succession
-formulated by William Smith in 1800
-states that the fossils of organisms succeed one
another in a specific and well-establish order
and that any geologic time or period can be
recognized by the kind of fossil present.
Fossil succession is based on the observation that
certain groups of animals and plants lived during
certain periods of time throughout Earth’s history
Example: human beings and modern breed of dogs
are part of the same group because they live in the
same period of time.
The Age of Trilobites was the earliest to exist,
succeeded by the Age of Fishes, followed by the
Age of Coal Swamps, the Age of Reptiles and the
last, the Age of Mammals.
 Index Fossils
- these are fossils of organisms found in most
places in the planet but lived only for a short
period.
They are useful for dating rock layers since
they are fossils of organisms that were common
and lived in many areas and existed only during
a specific span of time