The main difference between relative dating and radiometric dating is that relative dating is the method used to determine the age of rock layers according to their relative depth whereas radiometric dating is the method used to determine the absolute age with the use of decaying products of the natural radioactive

What is the main difference between absolute dating and relative dating?

The main difference between absolute and relative dating is that the absolute dating is a technique to determine the numerical age of a rock or a fossil whereas the relative dating is a technique that determines the relative age.

Why is radiometric dating not used to determine the age of sedimentary rocks quizlet?

Why is it difficult to assign a numerical age to a sedimentary rock? A radiometric date taken from a grain within a detrital sedimentary rock only gives the age of that one grain, which likely came from a source different from the other grains within the rock.

Why is it difficult to find the age of sedimentary rocks using radiometric dating?

Radioactive elements decay at a certain constant rate and this is the basis of radiometric dating. Sedimentary rocks may have radioactive elements in them, but they have been re-worked from other rocks, so essentially, there radiometric clock has not been re-set back to zero.

Why is radiometric dating difficult in sedimentary rocks?

Radioactive atoms are inherently unstable; over time, radioactive parent atoms decay into stable daughter atoms. Sedimentary rocks can be dated using radioactive carbon, but because carbon decays relatively quickly, this only works for rocks younger than about 50 thousand years.