Fossil Dating Worksheet
Explore the methods and principles of fossil dating, including relative and absolute dating techniques, for grade 9 science students.
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Fossil Dating: Uncovering Earth's Past
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Read each question carefully and provide your best answer. This worksheet will test your knowledge of fossil dating methods and principles.
1. Which dating method determines the age of a fossil by comparing its position in rock layers to other fossils?
Radiometric dating
Absolute dating
Relative dating
Carbon-14 dating
2. What is the half-life of a radioactive isotope?
The time it takes for all of the isotope to decay.
The time it takes for half of the isotope to decay.
The time it takes for the isotope to become stable.
The time it takes for the isotope to form.
3. The principle of states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the oldest layers are at the bottom and the youngest layers are at the top.
4. Carbon-14 dating is effective for dating fossils up to approximately years old.
5. Absolute dating methods provide a precise numerical age for fossils.
True
False
6. Index fossils are useful for relative dating because they lived for a long period of time and were geographically widespread.
True
False
7. Briefly explain the difference between relative dating and absolute dating.