Radioactive Dating

1
Radioactive Dating

• Chapter 10

2
Absolute Dating

• Process of establishing the age of an object by
  determining the number of years it has existed
• Absolute Age determined by analyzing radioactive
  dating

3
Radioactive Decay

• Process of Unstable elements breaking down into a
  stable elements
• Elements break down, or decay, by releasing
  particles and energy
• The rate of decay of an element is known as
  half-life

4
How Radioactive Decay Works

• Parent material Unstable
• Daughter material stable
• Decay occurs at a steady pace, allowing
  scientists to use the ratio of parent to daughter
  material to determine age

5
Radioactive Dating

• Determines the absolute age of a sample based on
  the ratio of parent to daughter material
• Half-life
• Times it takes for ½ of a radioactive sample to
  decay

6
Radioactive Dating Examples
Element Half-life
Carbon-14 5,730 years
Uranium-238 4.5 Billion years
Potassium-40 1.3 Billion years
Sodium-24 15 hours
Iodine-131 8 days