Which statement is correct about carbon dating and index fossils?(1 point)
Responses
Index fossils are used for absolute dating, but carbon dating is not.
Index fossils are used for absolute dating, but carbon dating is not.
They are both used to determine the relative ages of rocks and fossils.
They are both used to determine the relative ages of rocks and fossils.
Carbon dating is used for absolute dating, but index fossils are not.
Carbon dating is used for absolute dating, but index fossils are not.
They are both used to determine the absolute ages of rocks and fossils
Carbon dating is used for absolute dating, but index fossils are not.
Index fossils are used for relative dating, not absolute dating. On the other hand, carbon dating is used for absolute dating. Therefore, the correct statement is: Carbon dating is used for absolute dating, but index fossils are not.
The correct statement is: "They are both used to determine the relative ages of rocks and fossils."
Explanation:
Carbon dating and index fossils are both methods used in determining the ages of rocks and fossils, but they have different applications.
Carbon dating is a method that uses the radioactive decay of carbon-14 isotopes to determine the age of organic materials. It can be used to estimate the age of materials that are up to approximately 50,000 years old. This method is mainly used for dating archaeological artifacts and ancient remains.
On the other hand, index fossils are used to establish the relative ages of rock layers or geological strata. Index fossils are typically the remains or traces of organisms that existed for a relatively short period of time and were widespread geographically. These fossils provide a way to correlate and compare the ages of different rock layers in different locations. By examining the presence or absence of index fossils in different strata, scientists can determine the relative order of the rock layers and infer the relative ages of the fossils found within them.
In summary, while carbon dating is used for absolute dating of organic materials, index fossils are used for establishing the relative ages of rocks and fossils.