Why do we use uranium-238 to measure the half-life of a rock?(1 point) Responses All non-living things contain carbon-14 and the amount begins to increase when the rock comes to the surface. All non-living things contain carbon-14 and the amount begins to increase when the rock comes to the surface. All non-living things contain carbon-14 and the amount begins to decrease when the rock comes to the surface. All non-living things contain carbon-14 and the amount begins to decrease when the rock comes to the surface. All non-living things contain uranium-238 and the amount begins to decrease when the rock comes to the surface. All non-living things contain uranium-238 and the amount begins to decrease when the rock comes to the surface. All non-living things contain uranium-238 and the amount begins to increase when the rock comes to the surface.

Answer 1

The correct response is: All non-living things contain uranium-238 and the amount begins to decrease when the rock comes to the surface.

Uranium-238 is used in geological dating because it is a long-lived isotope that decays at a known rate (its half-life is about 4.5 billion years). When rocks form, they contain uranium-238, and as time passes, the isotope decays into other elements. Measuring the remaining amount of uranium-238 in a rock can provide information about its age, as the quantity will decrease over time since it is a radioactive isotope.