Most sedimentary rocks are laid down in flat, horizontal layers. These can later tilt and fold due to tectonic activity, and river cuttings can cause gaps among the layers. Relative dating arranges geological events — and the rocks they leave behind — in a sequence. The method of reading the order is called stratigraphy layers of rock are called strata. In this activity, students observe rock layers located near Whanganui, watch an animation about how they were formed and use relative dating to work out the order in which rocks were created. Scientists use diagrams and models to communicate information.

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Difference Between Relative and Absolute Dating | Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms
Relative dating is the process of determining if one rock or geologic event is older or younger than another, without knowing their specific ages—i. The principles of relative time are simple, even obvious now, but were not generally accepted by scholars until the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries [ 3 ]. James Hutton see Chapter 1 realized geologic processes are slow and his ideas on uniformitarianism i. Stratigraphy is the study of layered sedimentary rocks. This section discusses principles of relative time used in all of geology, but are especially useful in stratigraphy. Principle of Superposition: In an otherwise undisturbed sequence of sedimentary strata, or rock layers, the layers on the bottom are the oldest and layers above them are younger. Principle of Original Horizontality: Layers of rocks deposited from above, such as sediments and lava flows, are originally laid down horizontally.


Dating Fossils in the Rocks
By: Tracy V. When paleontologist Mary Schweitzer found soft tissue in a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil , her discovery raised an obvious question -- how the tissue could have survived so long? The bone was 68 million years old, and conventional wisdom about fossilization is that all soft tissue, from blood to brains , decomposes.



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