Question

What can radiometric dating tell us about the age of rocks that the law of superposition cannot

Answer 1

Answer:

Radiometric dating provides the age (absolute) of the rocks

Explanation:

The law of superposition says that the rocks that are found at the base of the undisturbed sedimentary rock sequence are the oldest rocks and the rocks that are found at the apical region are the youngest rocks. This gives the relative age of the rocks but the absolute age cannot be determined.

On the other hand, Radiometric dating refers to the technique of dating the rocks and obtaining the age of the rocks by determining the rate at which the unstable radioactive elements decay. This gives the absolute age of the rocks and is very commonly used by geologists.

Thus, the radiometric dating method tells the absolute age of the rocks but the law of superposition of rocks cannot.