Absolute Time
Radioactive Decay Parent Isotope --> Daughter Isotope + Decay Particle + Energy
Daughter Isotope Parent Isotope Half Life Time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay into daughter isotope
Radioactive Isotopes Used for Absolute Dating parentdaughterhalf life (years) 235 U 207 Pb4.50 x U 206 Pb0.71 x K 40 Ar1.25 x Rb 87 Sr47.0 x C 14 N5730
Radioactive Decay & Telling Time
Information Required for Radiometric Dating Initial Parent Isotope Content Half Life of Isotope Current Parent Isotope Concentration Closed System Remember: Age = Amount of Change Rate of Change
Mass Spectrometer
What can be dated?
When does a system become “Closed”? (i.e., What are you dating?) Cooling of Igneous Rock Metamorphism Death of Organic Material
Sedimentary Rocks: What are we dating?
Lab 3
Geologic Provenances of Washington