Science

Quarter 1 – Module 12

Relative and Absolute Dating

of Stratified Rocks

Source: http://shanahan1.pbworks.com/w/page/133374186/Earth%20Science%20Preview
Science– Grade 11
Quarter 1 – Relative and Absolute Dating of Stratified Rocks

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nor claim ownership over them.

Regional Director: Gilbert T. Sadsad

Assistant Regional Director: Jessie L. Amin

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Dennis B. Mayores

Editor: Emily B. Esmabe

Reviewer: Benjie L. Cadag

Illustrator: Dennis B. Mayores

Layout Artist: Christy R. Dawal, Antonio L. Morada

 Describe the different methods (relative
and absolute dating) to determine the age
of stratified rocks.
(S11/12ES-Ie-26)
 Hi Learners! How are you? Do you still remember the activities you did in the
previous days? I am sure you still do. One browse from your social media account and
voila! Most of your activities are recorded in your timeline.

Recording of previous events is so easy nowadays. With the help of cellphone,

internet, CCTV and other technological devices and applications, we can easily have
a glimpse of the past.

Figure 1. CCTV camera, cellphone and social media account, laptop

Photo credits: Dennis B. Mayores, July 2020

But did you ever wonder how we were able to know what happened thousands
or millions or even billions of years ago? That was the time when technologies we
have today are not yet available and even humans do not exist yet. How did we come
up with the past events?

Figure 2. The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 million years ago.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2019/09/09/the-day-the-dinosaurs-died-told-in-horrifying-new-detail/#21b1adc26df5

In this module we will learn the methods used in determining the age of rock –
the relative dating and the absolute dating methods. Determining the age of rocks
using these two methods helped geologists learn the past events in Earth’s history.

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 At the end of this module you are expected to:

1. describe the different methods (relative and absolute dating) to determine the
age of stratified rocks,
2. use relative dating and absolute dating methods to determine the age of rocks
3. appreciate the importance of determining the age of stratified rocks.

In order for you to clearly understand this module, let us first be acquainted with
the following terms:

Absolute dating is a method of determining the numerical age of rocks and

fossils using radioactive isotopes like the carbon-14.
Extrusive rock is a lava that cooled and hardened at the surface of the
earth.
Half-life is the amount of time it takes for one half of the isotope to decay.
Intrusive rock refers to a magma that cooled and hardened beneath the
surface.
Isotopes are atoms having the same atomic number (number of protons),
but of different mass numbers (number of protons and neutrons).
Relative dating is a method of determining the age of rocks in each layer
by identifying the relative order of previous events.
Stratified rocks are rocks with layers similar to sedimentary rock

Let me check if you already have ideas about how past events were traced
and recorded.

Direction: Answer the following questions by choosing the letter of the best
answer. Write your answer in your notebook.

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 1. These are rocks that mixed up in the formation of sediments.
a. sedimentary b. metamorphic c. inclusion d. exclusion

2. What type of rock dating uses radioactive isotopes?

a. absolute dating c. both a and b
b. relative dating d. none of the above

3. Which of the following is TRUE about a radioactive isotope?

a. It doesn’t decay
b. It decays in a fixed rate
c. Its decay rate is increasing over time
d. Its decay rate is decreasing over time

4. What principle states that an igneous intrusion is always younger than the rock
it has intruded?
a. Cross-cutting relationship
b. Law of Original Horizontality
c. Law of Inclusion
d. Law of superposition

5. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Law of Superposition?

a. Young sediments are on top layer, while the oldest are at the bottom
b. Young sediments are at the bottom, while the oldest are on top layer
c. Hard sedimentary rocks are found at the top layer
d. Soft sediments are found at the bottom layer

Do you still remember our previous topic? Let me check if you still remember it.
Answer the crossword puzzle below.

1 2

3 4

3
ACROSS
2. Danish scientist who proposed Law of Original horizontality.
3. A rock type based from composition that is formed through the accumulation of
sediments.
5. The process of breaking down of rocks into small particles.
6. A process in which sediments settled undisturbed like at the bottom of a body of
water like ocean.

DOWN
1. A process in which sediments are cemented together with clay and other materials
forming a new layer of rock.
2. A classification of rock based from appearance. This rock is composed of different
layers of sediments.
3. Other term for layers
4. A process of transporting rock particles from one place to another.

Excellent!
Are you ready to begin?

Let’s traverse and explore like geologists to trace and understand better what
happened in the past. Let’s go!

Activity 1. Playing detective

Determine the possible sequence of events that happened which resulted to

the illustration of dried mud below. Carefully analyze the illustration to explain every
single detail included.

Figure 3. Dried mud

(Source: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/35543231/18b-relative-dating-cpo-science)

Possible sequence of events:

_________________________________________

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 _________________________________________
Guide Questions:
1. What is your basis in determining the correct sequence of events in the activity?
2. Are all the clues in the illustration related to each other?
3. What do you think are the events or things that happened in the past as
sequenced by the scientists to know the age of stratified rocks?

Activity 2: Relative Dating Activity

Figure 4. Letter cards

Illustrated by: DB Mayores, July 2020

In this activity, you are tasked to determine the special sequence of all the
letters in the box by following the clues stated below:
✓ Each card of letters above represents a layer.
✓ The letters in each card represents the materials that can be found in that
layer.
✓ The bottom layer contains the letters “D” and “M”.

Procedure:
1. Make a card of letters like what is shown on Figure 4. You can use either
cardboard or a piece of paper in making cards. Make sure the sizes of the
letters are the same.

2. In order to arrange the letters in a specific sequence, you have to look first
for the card representing the bottom layer (first layer), it is already stated in
the clues that it is the card containing the letters “D” and “M”.

3. Look for the card that contains either letters “D” or “M”. Obviously, that is
card “FD” since aside from the first card it is the only remaining card
containing the letter “D”. Place it on top of the first card (first layer) by
aligning the common letters in the two boxes.

4. Continue sequencing the letters up to the last card. The result must be a
stack of cards. The card at the bottom is the oldest layer containing the
oldest letters or materials; while the topmost card is the youngest layer
containing the youngest letters or materials.

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 5. Write the correct sequence of letters in your notebook without repeating the
letters. The manner of writing the sequence of letters will be from the oldest
letter (bottom) up to the youngest letter (topmost).

Note: Figure 5 is just an example of what you are going to do. Do not copy
it.

Figure 5. Sample sequencing of letters and stacking of cards.

Illustrated by: DB Mayores, July 2020

Guide Questions:
1. What is the correct sequence of letters?
2. What is the topmost layer?
3. What is the youngest letter in the sequence? What is the oldest letter? What
is your basis for your answers?
4. How did you know that “T” is older than “C”?
5. Explain why “A” in layer AC is older than “A” in layer EA.
6. How can you relate this activity to the process of determining the age of
stratified rocks?

Activity 3: Half-Life
(Taken from EASE Physics Module 5, Lesson 2. pp.14-16)

Objective:
To develop an understanding of half-life of radioactive atoms.

Materials:
100 25-centavo coins
(You may also use 100 1-peso coins, if 25 centavo coins are not available. You
can try borrowing coins at sari-sari stores in your neighborhood, just make sure
to return them after the activity.)

1 graphing paper

6
Procedure:
1. Place the 100 25-centavo coins in a shoe box.
2. Pour out the coins on a clean table.
3. Take out the coins that show the head. The coins that showed the head represents
the decayed radioactive material.
4. Count how many coins are left after the 1st throw. Record your data on the table
provided.
5. Place the remaining coins in the box. Then again pour out the coins on the clean
table.
6. Take out the coins that show the head.
7. Count how many coins are left. Record your data on the table provided.
8. Continue doing the activity until only 2 or 3 coins are left.

Data and Results

Number of Number of decayed Number of coins

throws coins left
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Guide Questions:
1. Using your data what do you notice about the rate at which the coins “decay” as
their number decreases?

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2. Plot the graph of the number of coins left (N) against the number of throws (t). The
number of coins should be along the vertical axis while the number of throws
should be on the x-axis.

3. How would you describe the graph?

4. Describe in your own words what half-life is.

Nicely done!
Did you get the right answers?
How many items did you get correctly?

Though most rocks were formed thousands or millions of years ago, scientists
found a way to determine their age to learn the different events that happened in the
past.
The age of stratified rocks can be determined using two methods, the relative
dating and the absolute dating.

1. Relative dating. It is a method of determining the age of rocks in each layer

by identifying the relative order of previous events. The determination of the
relative ages of rocks are based on the following principles:

a. Law of Superposition. It states that each layer of sediments is piled

on top of another layer making the one on top of the strata the
youngest one, while the layer at the bottom of the strata as the oldest.

8
 Figure 6. Figure 3. Application of Law of Superposition and Cross-cutting relationship
Illustrated by: D.B. Mayores, June 2020
b. Cross-cutting relationship. Igneous rocks are formed from a solidified
magma or lava. A lava that cooled and hardened in a surface is called
an extrusion. The strata beneath the extrusion are always older. A
magma that cooled and hardened beneath the surface is called an
intrusion. An igneous intrusion is always younger than the rock it has
intruded; this principle is called the cross-cutting relationship. This is
also true to faults. A fault, a break on the Earth’s crust is always
younger than the stratified rock that it cuts.

c. Law of Inclusion. The rocks that mixed up in the formation of

sediments are called inclusions. These rocks are always older than
the layer of sediments it is embedded.

d. Faunal Succession. Fossils of plants and animals are grouped

according to the period of geologic time they appeared. Strata
containing those group of fossils are also formed on that particular
period of time.

Figure 7. Deposited fossils in each layer.

https://www.tes.com/lessons/GWg9hSsNrzWQmQ/copy-of-fossils

9
 e. Law of Original Horizontality. Layers of sediments are originally
deposited horizontally. Those strata that are found not in horizontal
order may have been deformed by the movement of the Earth’s crust.

Through this distinctive features, each layer of rocks can be

compared from one another determining their relative ages.

2. Absolute dating. It is a method of determining the numerical age of rocks

using advanced technology. The most common way of determining the
absolute age of rock is through Radiometric dating where radioactive
isotopes found in fossils or rocks are used. Carbon-14 (C-14) is used to
determine the age of fossils embedded in rocks and Uranium-238 (U-238)
for rocks.

Radioactive isotope, called parent isotope are unstable and gradually

decays in a fixed rate into a daughter isotope which is more stable. The time
it takes for one half of the isotope to decay is called half life. For example,
U-238 will take 4.5 billion years for half the amount of it to decay into a
daughter isotope Lead-206 (Pb-206).

Figure 4. Uranium 238 decays into its daughter isotope Lead-206

Illustrated by: D.B. Mayores, June 2020

Figure 5. Carbon-14 decays into its daughter isotope Nitrogen-14

Illustrated by: D.B. Mayores, June 2020

Since the rates of decay of radioactive isotopes are known, it can be

used to determine the age of rocks by measuring the proportion of parent
and daughter isotopes present in rocks. For example, if a rock is found to
contain the same proportion of U-238 and Pb-206, geologists can tell that

10
the age of rock is about 4.5 billion years old. Since some rocks on earth’s
surface were formed in different timelines, other isotopes with a different
rate of decay are used like potassium-40 (K-40) with a half-life of 1,251
billion years, uranium-235 with a half-life of 700 million years, and carbon-
14 (C-14) with a half-life of 5730 years.

Table 1. Different dating methods

Dating Method Materials Dated Age range dated
Carbon-14 to Nitrogen- Organic remains, Up to 60,000 years
14 archaeological ago
artefacts
Luminescence Tephra, loess, lake Up to 100,000 years
sediments ago
Fission track Tephra 10,000 to 400 million
years ago
Potassium-40 to Argon- Volcanic rocks 20,000 to 4.5 billion
40 years ago
Uranium-238 to lead- Volcanic rocks 1 million to 4.5 billion
206 years ago
Uranium-235 to lead- Volcanic rocks 10 million to 4.5
207 billion years ago
Source: https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1486-absolute-dating

Example problem:
Using potassium-40, calculate how long ago a rock was
formed if it has only 25% of potassium-40 found in similar rock
formed today. Note that the half life of potassium-40 is 1.251
billion years.

Solution:

Figure 8. Figure 6. Half life of K-40 in a sample rock

Illustrated by: D.B. Mayores, June 2020

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 The rock had gone by 2 half-life, that is,
(1.251 bya X 2) = 2.502 billion years ago

The rock was formed about 2.502 billion years ago.

Determining the age of sedimentary rocks using U-238 and K-40

sometimes leads to the age of its component rocks, the metamorphic and
igneous rocks, not the age of sediment accumulation. That is why geologists
uses other radioactive isotopes like Carbon-14 to date the age of the fossils
in the sediments, and through luminescence dating, a process that
measures the quantity of emitted light from energy stored in a rock.

To get the more accurate age of rocks, geologists both use the relative
and absolute dating for comparison and verification.

Figure 9. Figure 7. Relative dating and Absolute dating

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/671317888179359849/

Congratulations!
You are now ready to proceed to the next part of this module.

Direction: Solve the problem below. Write your answer in your notebook.
Note: Draw an illustration to back up your answer.

A. Geologists used carbon-14 to date the fossils embedded in a sedimentary rock.

After thorough examination, they found only 6.25% of carbon-14 left in the fossil
examined. When was the sedimentary rock formed if geologists were to base the age
of the rock to the age of the fossil?

12
B. A uranium-238 is used to determine the age of an unearthed rock. It was found
out that the rock contains 25% Lead-206 in proportion to uranium-238. What is the
absolute age of the rock?

Nicely done!
Did you get the right answers?
How many items did you get correctly?

A. Instruction: Determine the relative age of layers in the illustration from OLDEST to
YOUNGEST. Write your answer in your notebook.

Oldest 1. ___
2. ___
3. ___
4. ___
5. ___
6. ___
7. ___
8. ___
9. ___
Figure 10. Determining relative ages of rocks
Youngest 10. ___ Source: https://www.slideshare.net/rbrindley/relative-dating

11. What principles of determining the relative age of rocks are applied in the
illustration?

12. What does the black forward diagonal line in the middle of the illustration
represent? What is its relationship to the rocks around it?

B. What do you think is the importance of studying the age of rocks?

13
 Long time ago, a layer of sedimentary rock composed of a mineral
dolomite was formed. After thousands of years, a layer of limestone accumulated
on top of it, and then another layer made up of basalt was formed twice in
thickness than the layer of limestone.

Due to tectonic activities, a magma intruded the layers of sedimentary

rocks, cooled off and hardened forming an igneous intrusion. At present, a layer
of fine beach sand can be seen on top without the trace of the earlier intrusion.

Given the scenario above, illustrate the strata being described.

Remarkable…You did great!

Bear this in mind…

• The Law of Horizontality states that sediments are deposited horizontally

creating horizontal strata.
• The Law of Superposition states that each layer of sediments is piled on top of
another layer making the one on top of the strata the youngest one, while the
layer at the bottom of the strata as the oldest.
• Cross-cutting relationship states that the geologic feature that cuts another is
younger than the geologic feature it cuts.
• Age of rocks can be determined through relative dating or absolute dating.
• Relative dating is a method of determining the age of rocks in each layer by
identifying the relative order of previous events.
• Absolute dating is a method of determining the numerical age of rocks and
fossils using radioactive isotopes.
• Half - life is the amount of time it takes for one half of the isotope to decay.

14
Let’s check what you have learned about the lesson.

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write answers in your
notebook.
1. What activity can cause an igneous intrusion to stratified rocks?
a. volcanic activity c. deposition
b. human activity d. weathering

2. Which of these is determined by absolute dating?

a. numerical age of rock c. relative age of rock
b. kind of fossil c. composition of rock

Figure 11. Stratified Rock

Illustrated by: Dennis B. Mayores. June 2020

For numbers 3-5, refer to Figure 11.

3. Which layer of rock is the oldest?

a. layer 1 c. layer 3
b. layer 2 d. layer 4

4. Which rock is the youngest?

a. Layer 1 c. Layer 4
b. Layer 3 d. Igneous intrusion

5. What classification of rock is shown in the illustration?

a. Foliated rock c. Unstratified rock
b. Stratified rock d. Metamorphic rock

6. Which of the following statements is FALSE about cross-cutting relationship?

a. A fault is always younger than the rock it breaks
b. Rocks above an igneous intrusion is always younger
c. Igneous extrusion is oldest than other rock layers
d. An igneous intrusion is younger than the rocks it intruded

15
 7. What radioactive isotope will you examine if you are tasked to determine the
age of a fossilized tooth?
a. carbon-14 b. potassium-40 c. uranium-238 d. uranium-235

8. Why does a parent radioactive isotopes decays into a daughter isotope?

a. because it is unstable
b. because it is stable
c. because it is used for relative dating
d. because it is used for absolute dating

9. At present, a rock is found to contain 50% of Argon-40 after decaying for

almost 1,251 billion years. What radioactive isotope is made up of the
remaining 50% of Argon-40?
a. Cabon-14 c. Lead-206
b. Potassium-40 d. Uranium-325

10. A rock inclusion is found in every layer of a rock strata. Which of the following
statements is TRUE?
a. The top layer is the oldest.
b. The rock inclusion is the oldest.
c. The bottom layer is the oldest.
d. The rock inclusion is older than the top layer but younger than the bottom.

As previously discussed, sedimentary rocks are stratified or has layers. Each

layer has distinctive feature compared to other layers depending on the situation of
the past events and the life forms that lived in that certain period of time when the layer
was formed. The law of horizontality stated that the sediments in each layer are
deposited horizontally creating horizontal strata. But there are cases where a portion
of strata doesn’t exactly fit with the other portion as shown below.

Figure 12. Stratified sedimentary rock

Illustrated by: D.B. Mayores, June 2020
1. Discuss what happened to the sedimentary rock as shown in the illustration.

16
EASE Physics Module 5, Lesson 2. pp.14-16
https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/rocks-layers.html
http://shanahan1.pbworks.com/w/page/133374186/Earth%20Science%20Preview
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2019/09/09/the-day-the-dinosaurs-died-told-
in-horrifying-new-detail/#21b1adc26df5
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/dating-rocks-and-fossils-using-
geologic-methods-107924044/
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/671317888179359849/
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1486-absolute-dating
https://www.slideshare.net/rbrindley/relative-dating
https://www.tes.com/lessons/GWg9hSsNrzWQmQ/copy-of-fossils

17
TRY THIS
1.c, 2.a, 3.b, 4.a, 5.a

DO THIS
Across
2. Steno
3. Sedimentary
5. Weathering
6. Deposition

Down
1. Compaction
2. Stratified
3. Strata
4. Erosion

EXPLORE

Activity 1

Possible sequence of events:

- A heavy rain pours turning the piece of land into a mud
- A child then walked on the mud creating footprints,
- Hailstones fell down to the mud resulting to small holes
- Then the sun shines. Its heat turned the mud into baked piece of land which
resulted to several cracks. (Or maybe after drying up the piece of land, an
earthquake happened which resulted to cracks on the dried mud.)

Note: Learners may also arrive into a more interesting sequence of events in a form
of story.

1. The basis of determining the correct sequence of events are the pieces of clues or
details shown in the picture.
2. Yes, they are related to each other. The clues in the picture are events that
happened one after another resulting to a sequence of events.
3. In order to know the age of stratified rocks, scientists studied the fossils of plants
and animals embedded in each layer. Each layer of rock is formed at the time where
a certain animal or plant lived. Determining the chronological order of fossils will also
tell us the age of each rock.

18
Activity 2

1.

2. The topmost layer is card “UX”.

3. The youngest letter is “U” because it is in the topmost layer and the topmost letter
in the sequence. On the other hand, the oldest letter is “M” because it is found at the
bottom layer and is in the bottom of the sequence of letters’.
4. “T” is older than “C” because the layer/card where it belongs is below the layer CL
where “C” can be found.
5. Layer EA is located above layer AC. Even though they are both “A”, the “A” in
layer AC is older than “A” in layer AE because it is found in the lower layer. Letters in
lower layers are older than the letters in the upper layer.
6. In the activity, the letters represent the fossils, while the card represents the layer
of rock. Each layer of rock contains fossils of plants and animals. Knowing the period
of time when the fossils lived will also tell us the time when the layer of rock was
formed.

Activity 3
1. As the number of coins’ decreases, the rate at which the coins
“decay” also decreases. This is because as the atoms are
disintegrating all the time, there will be fewer and fewer atoms left
which still have to disintegrate.
2.

3. The graph shows a decreasing N as t increases.

4. Half-life is the time it takes for the amount of radioactive substance
to be reduced to half its original value.

19
APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
A. The rock was possibly formed 22,920 years ago.
B. Rocks age is 2.25 billion years’ old

THINK OVER
1. J
2. F
3. E
4. I
5. H
6. G
7. D
8. C
9. B
10. A
11. Law of Superposition and Cross-cutting relationship
12. Fault. A fault is always younger than the rocks it cuts.

REINFORCEMENT

ASSESS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

1.a, 2.a, 3.a, 4.d, 5.b, 6.c, 7.a, 8.a, 9.b, 10.b

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