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Radioactive Dating

Learn how radioactive decay helps estimate the age of the Earth, with a focus on isotopes and half-life. Discover the process and importance of measuring "new" isotopes to determine the age accurately.

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Radioactive Dating

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  1. Radioactive Dating pp 282-284

  2. Earth • Estimated age to be around 4.6 billion years • Took about 1.5 billion years for swirling gases to form the planet How do we know this? Radioactive Dating

  3. Radioactive decay • Atomic nuclei release ½ of its radioactive energy every so many years (based on element) and leaves behind a different isotope • That energy can be released as a neutron, proton, or electron EX. C14 (unstable) changes to C12 (stable)

  4. Half-Life • how long it takes to reduce the sample size by ½ • Can measure the amount of the “new” isotope to determine age • Isotope used must be appropriate to time window

  5. The half life for Potassium-40 is about 1.3 billion years. If you are left with 1/8 of the sample, how much time has passed? 1 2 3 half lives 1  1/2  1/4  1/8 3 x 1.3 billion years = 3.9 billion years

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