Define absolute dating and explain how it is different from relative dating. Explain why relative dating was the only means of dating rocks before the use of absolute dating became common.

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Biology

Raelynn Armstrong

5 March, 19:01

Define absolute dating and explain how it is different from relative dating. Explain why relative dating was the only means of dating rocks before the use of absolute dating became common.

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Judith Browning · Answer 1

Absolute dating is the process of determining an approximate computed age in archaeology and geology.

Relative dating is the science of determining the relative order of past events (i. e, the age of an object in comparison to another), without necessarily determining their absolute age, (i. e. estimated age). In geology rock or superficial deposits, fossils and lithologies can be used to correlate one stratigraphic column with another

The difference between relative dating and absolute dating is that relative dating is a method of sequencing events in the order in which they happened. Absolute dating is a method of estimating the age of a rock sample in years via radiometric techniques.