!!!!!How do radioactive elements help scientists establish how old rocks and fossils are?!!!!

I will give a hypothesis. Just like a tree, when you cut a tree by its trunk, you will the rings. The rings around it represents the tree's age. So when you cut rock, the pores in the rock determine whether it is an old rock or a fossil rock.

Explanation:

The reason is, if it is limestone and it is an old rock, the pores will be slightly big and if the limestone is a fossil rock, then the pores will be bigger due to leaching or denaturing of the minerals in the rock through the ages.

lisasabrina69 lisasabrina69 · Answer 2 · 2022-04-04T19:43:23+02:00

Answer:

Radioactive elements all have a specific half-life, which is the time it takes for half of the radioactive elements in the fossil to disappear. In absolute dating, numbers are given to the ages of different fossils and rocks. To give an exact number or age range to a fossil, scientists use radiometric dating. This is where the half-lives of radioactive isotopes within the fossil or in the rock surrounding it are analyzed. Radioactive isotopes decay at a steady rate. By measuring the ratio of the radioactive isotope to the stable isotope it decays into, the number of completed half-lives can be estimated. Since you know the rate of decay, you can estimate dates with this ratio.

Explanation:

This is the process used to help scientists establish how old rocks and fossils are