1. Radioactive Dating Chapter 10

2. Absolute Dating Process of establishing the age of an object by determining the number of years it has existed Absolute Age determined by analyzing radioactive dating

3. Radioactive Decay Process of Unstable elements breaking down into a stable elements Elements break down, or decay, by releasing particles and energy The rate of decay of an element is known as half-life

4. How Radioactive Decay Works Parent material = Unstable Daughter material = stable Decay occurs at a steady pace, allowing scientists to use the ratio of parent to daughter material to determine age

5. Radioactive Dating Determines the absolute age of a sample based on the ratio of parent to daughter material Half-life Times it takes for ½ of a radioactive sample to decay

6. Radioactive Dating Examples ElementHalf-life Carbon-145,730 years Uranium-2384.5 Billion years Potassium-401.3 Billion years Sodium-2415 hours Iodine-1318 days