(Q010) To calculate the numerical age of a fossil specimen that you believe dates to about 2 mya, which of the following methods would you choose?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks which dating method would be appropriate for a fossil specimen dating around 2 million years ago (mya).
Option 1: thermoluminescence dating. This method is typically used for ceramics and heated minerals, not for dating ancient fossils directly; it’s not well-suited for a 2 mya age range.
Option 2: dendrochronology. Tree-ring dating is excellent for calibrating relatively recent timescales, generally up to a few tens of thousands of years, but it cannot be applied to fossils or deep geological times.
Option 3: carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 is useful for dating organic material up to about 50,000 years old at most; beyond that, the radioactive signal has decayed too much to yield reliable results, so it cannot date a 2 mya specimen.
Option 4: fission track dating. This technique leverages natural fission tracks in minerals like apatite or zircon and can extend over millions of years, making it appropriate for dating fossils on the order of 2 mya and older. It is commonly used in paleoanthropology and geology for such timescales.
In sum, only fission track dating aligns with the ~2 mya timescale, while the other methods are either inapplicable or unreliable for that age range.

ANTH-101-03 CH 08 REVIEW QUIZ

(Q010) To calculate the numerical age of a fossil specimen that you believe dates to about 2 mya, which of the following methods would you choose?

查看解析

登录即可查看完整答案

类似问题

Which two useful properties were used by John Joly and Ernest Rutherford to estimate the age of the earth?

Select three of the followng disciplines which have made the most significant contributions to estimating the age of the earth in the 19th and 20th century.

Why are moon rocks useful in estimating the age of the earth?

What determines the slope on an isochron diagram?

Which statements are true regarding absolute dating techniques? (Select all that apply)

The oldest continental rock measured is 4.37 billion years old.

In a consumer society, many adults channel creativity into buying things

Economic stress and unpredictable times have resulted in a booming industry for self-help products

更多留学生实用工具

考试浏览器助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单