Absolute dating and relative dating are two different methods used to determine the age of geological materials, but they operate on different principles:
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Absolute Dating: This method provides a specific age or date for a rock or fossil, typically through techniques such as radiometric dating, which measures the decay of radioactive isotopes in minerals. This allows scientists to determine an exact age in years.
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Relative Dating: This approach helps establish the chronological order of rock layers and fossils without providing a specific numerical age. It uses principles such as the law of superposition (younger layers are deposited on top of older layers) and the association of fossils to determine if one rock layer is older or younger than another.
To summarize:
- Absolute dating involves the use of radioactivity to find a precise age.
- Relative dating compares rock layers and other geological features to determine a sequence of events in a relative timeline.
So, the best distinction among the options you provided is that "one uses other rock layers (relative dating) while the other uses radioactivity (absolute dating)."
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