Muhammad Aizuddin bin Mohd Rosli

13653 Petroleum Engineering

Assignment
Age Dating for Different Types of Rocks

The age of a rock is known by determining the age of the group of rocks, or
formation, that it is found in. The age of formations is marked on a geologic calendar known
as the geologic time scale. Development of the geologic time scale and dating of formations
and rocks relies upon two fundamentally different ways of telling time that are relative and
absolute. Relative dating places events or rocks in their chronologic sequence or order of
occurrence while absolute dating places events or rocks at a specific time. If a geologist
claims to be younger than his or her co-worker, that is a relative age. If a geologist claims to
be 45 years old, that is an absolute age.

Relative dating is used to determine the relative ages of geologic strata, artifacts and
historical events. This technique does not give specific ages to items. It only sequences the
age of things or determines if something is older or younger than other things. Some types
of relative dating techniques include superposition, faunal succession, crosscutting
relationship and inclusions. The most basic concept used in relative dating is the law of
superposition. Simply stated, each bed in a sequence of sedimentary rocks or layered
volcanic rocks is younger than the bed below it and older than the bed above it. This law
follows two basic assumptions that are the beds were originally deposited near horizontal
and the beds were not overturned after their deposition. Next is faunal succession, similar
to the law of superposition is the law of faunal succession, which states that groups of fossil
animals and plants occur throughout the geologic record in a distinct and identifiable order.
Following this law, sedimentary rocks can be "dated" by their characteristic fossil content.
Particularly useful are index fossils, geographically widespread fossils that evolved rapidly
through time. Inclusions, which are fragments of older rock within a younger igneous rock or
coarse-grained sedimentary rock, also facilitate relative dating. Inclusions are useful at
contacts with igneous rock bodies where magma moving upward through the crust has
dislodged and engulfed pieces of the older surrounding rock. Lastly, inclusions, which are
fragments of older rock within a younger igneous rock or coarse-grained sedimentary rock,
also facilitate relative dating. Inclusions are useful at contacts with igneous rock bodies
where magma moving upward through the crust has dislodged and engulfed pieces of the
older surrounding rock.

For artifacts, another relative dating method is the geologic-climatic method. Since
geology can give clues to climate, analysis of artifacts which are associated with geology can
be dated if the age of a climatic event (such as an ice age) is known. Plant and animal fossils
can also give a clue to the climatic period. For example, a modern animal of the jungle found
in the middle of a desert site can signify that the animal supersedes the climatic change
from jungle environment to desert. If the rate of desertification is known, than the fossil can
be dated.Pollen grains can also be used to date artifacts. Pollen can be analyzed to identify
the plant life and the climate of the era which can contribute to creating a relative date for
the items found with the grains of pollen. Again, association is used to connect two items
found together. Using known processes of change, relative dating can be used to predict the
age of artifacts found under a variety of circumstances when absolute techniques are either
not available or not conclusive. It is a very valuable tool used by archaeologists in the quest
to place our history in order, and although it has its limits, it will be employed by
archaeologists the world over as long as the science exists.

Determining the age of materials by means of their radioactive content is called

radiometric age dating or radiometric dating. Radiometric dating is the most common type
of dating. There are a wide variety of materials that can be used for radiometric dating. The
most well-known method is carbon dating. To understand how carbon dating is improperly
used to support the old earth theory we need to take a brief look at how carbon dating
works. Carbon dating is based on a ratio of two types or isotopes of carbon. The first is an
abundant stable form of carbon called carbon-12 or radiocarbon. Carbon-14 is made in the
upper atmosphere when cosmic rays hit ordinary nitrogen-14 changing it into Carbon-14.
Carbon-14 is unstable, unlike Carbon-12, and it slowly decays over time. While an organism
is living it absorbs both types of carbon in the same ratio that carbon-14 and carbon-12 exist
in the air. Even though carbon-14atoms are unstable and constantly decaying, a living
organism exchange s both types of carbon with its environment keeping the mixture in the
organism about the same as the atmosphere. When an organism dies the carbon-14 decays
and is not replaced. The amount of Carbon-14 decreases over time decreasing the Carbon-
12 or Carbon-14 ratio. Scientists can use this ratio, and the half–life of Carbon-14, to
estimate how long ago something died.

This appears to be an accurate way to determine how long ago a living organism
died. But, those who are pushing the theory that the earth is millions to billions of years old
want you to accept carbon dating without thinking. The problem is that there are major
assumptions that are made in order for carbon dating to work. Revealing these assumptions
pokes holes in the credibility of carbon dating. A significant assumption is that all living
things absorb Carbon-14 at the same rate as everything else. But that's not true. Plants
discriminate when it comes to absorbing carbon dioxide containing Carbon-14. Some plants
take up less than would be expected. When you carbon date these types of plants, you get
an inaccurate result. The tests will give results showing an age much older than it actually is.
Different types of plants absorb Carbon-14 at different rates. This means those different
rates need to be calculated into the equation when determining the age. In the case of a
“prehistoric” plant that is no longer in existence, there is no way to get an accurate age
through carbon dating of the plant. Another problem is that there is no way to know the
original ratio of Carbon-14 to Carbon-12 in the atmosphere when the organism was living.
This ratio has not been constant. For example, the ratio of Carbon-14 to Carbon-12 was
higher before the industrial revolution. When we started burning massive amounts of fossil
fuels it released huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the earth atmosphere. The higher
levels of carbon dioxide diluted the amount of Carbon-14 in the atmosphere. This makes
things that died during the industrial revolution seem older, when carbon dated, than they
truly are.

A third problem is that there is no way to know how much Carbon-14 was being
produced in the upper atmosphere when the organism was living and died. The amount of
cosmic rays that penetrate the earth’s atmosphere directly affects the amount of Carbon-14
that is produced. Therefore, it affects the carbon dating system. An example of how the
cosmic ray level varies is the fact that the number of cosmic rays reaching the earth’s upper
atmosphere varies based on the strength of the earth’s magnetic field. The stronger the
magnetic field, the fewer cosmic rays can get to the atmosphere. There is evidence that the
earth’s magnetic field has fluctuated and is now decreasing. As a result more Carbon-14 is
being created today. Since the Carbon-14 level is higher now, and in carbon dating it is
assumed the Carbon-14 level is constant throughout history, it makes old things appear to
be older than they actually are. Finally, even if these assumptions were correct, there still is
a big problem with carbon dating. The time span for which Carbon-14 can be used is limited
by the rate at which Carbon-14 decays. Its half-life is about 5,730 years. A half-life is how
long it takes for half of the Carbon-14 to convert back into Nitrogen-14. That is why it is
called a ‘half- life.’ After two half- lives, over a period of about 11,460 years, only a quarter
of the Carbon-14 will be left. But, there is a lower limit at which there is not enough Carbon-
14 left such that it can be detected. That limit is reached when something is about 50,000
years old. For that reason carbon dating can not give ages for things that were living millions
of years in the past.

Next about absolute dating, the nuclear decay of radioactive isotopes is a process
that behaves in a clock-like fashion and is thus a useful tool for determining the absolute
age of rocks. Radioactive decay is the process by which a "parent" isotope changes into a
"daughter" isotope. Rates of radioactive decay are constant and measured in terms of half-
life, the time it takes half of a parent isotope to decay into a stable daughter isotope. Some
rock-forming minerals contain naturally occurring radioactive isotopes with very long half-
lives unaffected by chemical or physical conditions that exist after the rock is formed. Half-
lives of these isotopes and the parent-to-daughter ratio in a given rock sample can be
measured, then a relatively simple calculation yields the absolute (radiometric) date at
which the parent began to decay, i.e., the age of the rock.
 Of the three basic rock types, igneous rocks are most suited for radiometric dating.
Metamorphic rocks may also be radiometrically dated. However, radiometric dating
generally yields the age of metamorphism, not the age of the original rock. Most ancient
sedimentary rocks cannot be dated radiometrically, but the laws of superposition and
crosscutting relationships can be used to place absolute time limits on layers of sedimentary
rocks crosscut or bounded by radiometrically dated igneous rocks. Sediments less than
about 50,000 years old that contain organic material can be dated based on the radioactive
decay of the isotope Carbon 14. For example, shells, wood, and other material found in the
shoreline deposits of Utah's prehistoric Lake Bonneville have yielded absolute dates using
this method. These distinct shorelines also make excellent relative dating tools. Many
sections of the watch fault disturb or crosscut the Provo shoreline, showing that faulting
occurred after the lake dropped below this shoreline which formed about 13,500 years ago.
As this example illustrates determining the age of a geologic feature or rock requires the use
of both absolute and relative dating techniques.