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Relative Dating & Law of Superposition

The Process

(erosion)

1. Work from oldest to youngest

2. Try to find the oldest rock (usually founded near the bottom of the diagram)

3.Work your way up

4. Consider the age of all intrusions and faults

(movement of faults)

Problems of the Process

  • If rocks have been faulted or turned upside down, it can be hard for geologists to determine the relative age of the rock
  • Movements along faults also make it more difficult
  • Some layers may erode away and expose older rocks at the surface

What techniques are used to determine relative dating?

  • In sedimentary rock, the oldest layer is at the bottom
  • An extrusion is always younger than the rocks below it and a intrusion is always younger than the rocks around and beneath it
  • A fault is always younger than the rock it cuts through

Examples

This rock is layered from

oldest to youngest

(C, B, A, D, & E). The

oldest layer is located

at the bottom of the

diagram. Scientists use the

law of superposition to determine the age of the rock.

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