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Age Of Earth

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The age of the Earth can be accurately determined. Through various methods of relative dating, and absolute radiometric dating, scientists can very precisely determine the age of the Earth. The key to the age of our planet lies not in one evidence, but in the cross-examination of multiple evidences. In this paper, we will explore those evidences and find that the secret of Earth’s age lives in the relationship between them. By putting the pictures of fossils in chronological order in the activity Using Fossils to Tell “Deep Time”, we discovered that fossils can be a valuable tool in relative dating. Due to the principle of horizontal originality, we know that layers of sediment are deposited horizontally; because of this, we can extrapolate that fossils of the same species will …show more content…

The hotpots create islands; and when the tectonic plates move, the island moves with it. This creates an opening above the hotspot, which allows the hotspot to create more islands. The older the islands are, the smaller they get because they have more time to be eroded. Also, the older the islands will be further away from the hotspot because they have been on the tectonic plates longer and therefore have had more time to move. This phenomena shows relative age because we can see the age of the Earth through the size of the islands and the distance they are from the hotspot. In the third activity, we found that mid ocean ridges are the birthing place of tectonic plates. The isochron map showed us that the closer to the ridges, the younger the oceanic floor is. The closer to a continent, the older the rock is. The reason for this is because the mid ocean ridges create crust, and where the oceanic crust meets the continental crust, the crust is destroyed (subduction zone). This shows relative age because the oceanic crust’s age can be seen relative to the mid ocean ridges and the subduction

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