Earth Scientists found a Fossil in a Sedimentary rock formation. How can they use Radiocarbon dating of the Fossil to determine the ages of the rock layers around it?

Question

Geologic Time

a
Radiocarbon dating is Absolute dating which will determine the exact age of the fossil, and therefore also its rock layer. Once they know the age of this layer, they can estimate the ages of the adjacent rock layers above and below it through relative aging.
b
Radiocarbon dating determine the amount of carbon still present in the fossil/rock layer and then you can use the equation of carbonation from chemical weathering to determine the age of the layers above and below it.
c
Radiocarbon dating is only a Relative dating procedure, and therefore they would not be able to tell any specific ages of the fossil, the rock layer it is embedded in, or the rock layers above or below it.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

a
Radiocarbon dating is Absolute dating which will determine the exact age of the fossil, and therefore also its rock layer. Once they know the age of this layer, they can estimate the ages of the adjacent rock layers above and below it through relative aging.

Radiocarbon dating provides a specific age for organic materials up to about 50,000 years old. By determining the age of the fossil, scientists can then apply principles of relative dating (such as superposition and the idea that layers of sedimentary rock are deposited in a temporal sequence) to estimate the ages of the surrounding rock layers.