Radioactive dating

Lesson Plan is located at the bottom

Worksheet/Answer Key:

1. What does radioactive dating do?

Answer: A method of dating rocks and minerals using radioactive isotopes, this method is useful for igneous and metamorphic rock.

2. What is an example of radioactive dating?

Answer: A rock that has equal amounts of uranium-235 and lead-207 would be 704 million years old. This is because in 704 millions years, half of the uranium-235 has decayed to lead-207.

3. What elements are used in radioactive dating?

Answer: Potassium-Argon (K-Ar) dating is the most widely applied technique of radiometric dating. Potassium is a component in many common minerals and can be used to determine the ages of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

4. Who invented radioactive dating?

Answer: Willard Libby (1946)

5. What information is obtained from radioactive dating?

Answer: The age of something.

Lesson Plan: