Weekly Blog Post - "Radiometric/Radioactive Dating" (9|11|17-9|17|17)


Summary: During this week, I learned about radiometric dating. Radiometric dating is when scientists use the level of radiation to determine the age of rocks. We looked at a Java-programmed interactive where we learned about the half-life of elements, such as uranium and carbon. Then, we used another Java-programmed interactive to find the age of fossils and rocks using the uranium, carbon, and custom settings. What I noticed while doing completing my worksheet was that the uranium setting was used for rocks and ancient fossils while the carbon setting was used for decayed or more recent fossils, and the custom setting was for objects that didn't qualify for the uranium or carbon setting.

S&EP: #3 - Planning And Carrying Out Investigations. I planned and carried out investigations when I was completing my worksheet on radiometric dating by asking identifiable questions such as "Are there other methods of radiometric dating besides using uranium and carbon?" and "Would a scientist be able to identify the age of a rock by locating its nitrogen level, if it has one?" as well as "Is it possible to identify the age of a rock by finding its mercury level?"

Image Link: Villar, Eugene Alvin. Thorium Decay Chain from Lead-212 to Lead-208.Svg. Philip Greenspun Illustration Project., 25 Aug. 2008,

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