GO150 “Virtual” Radiometric Dating LAB

How are absolute and not relative ages of rocks determined?

Name: ____________________________________________________________________28 pts

The purpose of this lab is Radiometric Dating or absolute dating where the actual age of the rocks
will be determined.

1st. Go to the following website http://profharwood.x10host.com/GEOL101/Labs/Radiometric/index.htm

2nd: Follow the directions on the website

3rd: When possible, check all your answers by clicking on appropriate tabs for grading. Additional questions have
been added not on the website.

4th: Place your responses on this sheet and then upload your lab into the Radiometric Dating LAB drop box.

Helpful Hint (first table): Although you are to follow the directions on the website, you may find the following
helpful. At zero half-lives 100% of the Parent Isotope exists and 0% daughter product has formed. This represents
no lapse of time for the unstable parent isotope. At each half-life, half of the parent isotope turns into the daughter
product. Matter can’t be created or destroyed. The parent material turns into the daughter product. For this first
table do not round your answers. All of your daughter/parent ratios should be whole numbers, no decimals. On the
website only the third column is checked for you, all three columns of the table will be checked as part of your
overall lab score.

Half-Lives 1. Parent 2. Daughter Daughter/Parent

Elapsed Isotope Isotope Ratio

0
1 0.5 0.5 1
2 0.25 0.75
3
4
5
6

Helpful Hint (second table): The half-life of C-14 (Carbon 14) is 5,730 years. Once you have determined the
number of half-lives that have elapsed multiple the number of half-lives by 5,730 years to determine the age in years
for the table below. Follow the directions on the website and check your answers before you place them into the
table below.
 Sample NP ND ND/NP
Half-lives Age in

Elapsed Years
1 736 1472
2 918 6426
3 528 12144
4 248 2232

Bonus (third table) 5 points: No bonus will be given for filling in the half-life of Potassium-40 only. Five bonus
points will be awarded for having all ten of the following blanks being filled in correctly. Partial bonus will not be
awarded.

What is the half-life of 40K? (Round the answer to the nearest million years:

Million years

NP ND ND/NP
Sample Half-lives Age in

Elapsed Years
1 2486 2260
2 9134 7125
3 760 1254