Here are the 3 main techniques used to date rocks and fossils

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BY SADE AGARD

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Radioisotope dating and paleomagnetism are just two of the many techniques used in dating events.

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Assembling a historical record of our planet could be key to understanding what may occur in the future.

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Geologists use a wide variety of different techniques to address the question: "How old is this fossil/ rock?"

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Dr. Jenna Crowe-Riddell

Simply put, relative dating arranges events or rocks according to their chronological order of occurrence.

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Absolute dating is more specific- it assigns more precise dates and times to fossils, rocks, or events.

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One common method for relative dating is stratigraphy or the study of rock strata. 

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Radiometric dating is an absolute or numerical dating technique based on the rate of natural radioactive decay of certain elements, such as potassium and carbon.

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