Scientists use various dating methods to determine the age of the Earth and how it has changed over time. Radiometric dating allows scientists to determine the age of rocks and fossils by measuring radioactive decay, with elements like uranium used to date very old objects. Relative dating examines the positions of rock layers, with the Law of Superposition stating layers on the bottom are older, though faults and folds can disturb this. Plate tectonics, erosion, and other geological processes observed today provide evidence these processes shaped the planet over billions of years.
Scientists use various dating methods to determine the age of the Earth and how it has changed over time. Radiometric dating allows scientists to determine the age of rocks and fossils by measuring radioactive decay, with elements like uranium used to date very old objects. Relative dating examines the positions of rock layers, with the Law of Superposition stating layers on the bottom are older, though faults and folds can disturb this. Plate tectonics, erosion, and other geological processes observed today provide evidence these processes shaped the planet over billions of years.
Scientists use various dating methods to determine the age of the Earth and how it has changed over time. Radiometric dating allows scientists to determine the age of rocks and fossils by measuring radioactive decay, with elements like uranium used to date very old objects. Relative dating examines the positions of rock layers, with the Law of Superposition stating layers on the bottom are older, though faults and folds can disturb this. Plate tectonics, erosion, and other geological processes observed today provide evidence these processes shaped the planet over billions of years.
Scientists use various dating methods to determine the age of the Earth and how it has changed over time. Radiometric dating allows scientists to determine the age of rocks and fossils by measuring radioactive decay, with elements like uranium used to date very old objects. Relative dating examines the positions of rock layers, with the Law of Superposition stating layers on the bottom are older, though faults and folds can disturb this. Plate tectonics, erosion, and other geological processes observed today provide evidence these processes shaped the planet over billions of years.
Physical evidence supports scientific theories that Earth has changed
over geologic time due to natural processes. The Earth is believed to be 4.6 billion years old. How is it possible for scientists to determine the age of the Earth if they were not present at its creation? The answer is they gather evidence about the past based on events currently happening in the present time. Scientists believe that the processes we observe today such as plate tectonics, volcanic and earthquake activity, erosion, weathering and deposition occurred in the past as well and created the planet as we know it today. Scientists use radioactive dating (absolute dating) to date rocks and fossils found on Earth. Elements that are radioactive tend to be unstable and break down over time. When they break down they change into more stable elements. By comparing the amount of stable to unstable elements in a sample, scientists can determine the age of the sample. The time is takes for half the unstable atoms in the element to decay (breakdown) is called the half-life. Elements with very long half-lives, such as uranium (4.5 million yrs) can be used to date objects that are millions of years old. Carbon can also be used to date samples that are less than 50,000 years old. Relative dating is a way scientists can determine the age of Earth and its parts by comparing position or sequence in rock layers. Fossils are often found in layers of sedimentary rock. If the rock layer has not been overturned or disrupted by earthquakes or other geologic processes it would be safe to say that fossils found in the bottom layers would be older than those found in the top layers. This is referred to as the Law of Superposition. The law of superposition must be used with care because certain events can disturb the positions of rock layers. These forces may create folds or faults. Therefore the older layers MAY be pushed on top of younger layers. In general, a rock layer is older than any fault or fold that appears in it because the rock had to already exist in order to be folded or faulted. The Earths tectonic plates float around on the mantle like ice floats on a pond. The movement of the plates is incredibly slow, but since the plates are so big, when they bump into and rub against each other, we get massive events like volcanoes and earthquakes. Along these plate boundaries, we find faults. Faults are cracks in the Earth's crust where movement occurs. We often think of rock as hard, brittle material. But under the right conditions, rock can actually 'flow' in a way that keeps it from breaking. When rock deforms in such a way that it bends instead of breaking, we call this a fold. Folds come from pressure on rocks that occur over very long periods of time (think millions of years!).