Question

Differences and similarities between radiometric dating and relative dating? (I'm making a venn diagram.)

Answer 1

Try reading this article:
http://scientia-discipulus.blogspot.com/2011/12/radiometric-dating-versus-relative.html
You don't need to read the entire thing, just be able to grasp the main ideas.


Radiometric Pros:
Capable of providing a reasonably exact age
Makes use of known and predetermined parameters (e.g amount of radioactive isotopes in fossil)
Leaves relatively little room for bias
Is not usually dependent on dynamic or changing factors (e.g few things can change the amount of radioactive atoms in the fossil)

Radiometric Cons:
Not failsafe - can present inconsistencies or confusing results (e.g living penguins dated as 8000 years old)
Assumes the rate of radioactive decay is fixed or constant
Therefore, does not take into account environmental factors that may have affected decay

Relative Pros:
Easier and quicker to utilize
While not exact, does accurately present the fossil's position in the timescale in relation to others

Relative Cons:
Does not provide an exact or absolute age
Results can be manipulated according to bias and personal opinion
Can be interpreted in different ways
Relies on dynamic or inconsistent factors (e.g assumes geological time scale is linear)
Other index fossils or remains must be present in order to compare positions

Answer 2

Thank you !! Very helpful, can you find any articles for similarities?

Answer 3

Well, I don't think I can find any articles exclusively about the similarities.
I think the two main similarities is that they're both types of dating and they're both used by geologists.

Answer 4

That's all I can find. My teacher assigned a venn diagram with 8 differences of each and 8 similarities. There isn't a lot of similarities to find on the internet.

Answer 5

Eight similarities?!
That's quite a few...

Answer 6

Its crazy right! I am going to submit it with the number I have.

Answer 7

Ummm....
Similarities:
Both types of dating
Used by geologists
Require samples for dating
Rely on environmental factors
Do not take dynamic figures into account
Are often not entirely accurate

That's all I can think of...

Answer 8

Thank you, this helped me very much :D

Answer 9

Np