For young organic materials, the carbon-14 (radiocarbon) method is used. The effective dating range of the carbon-14 method is between 100 and 50,000 years.

How radioactive isotopes can be used to date the age of a rock?

Some minerals in rocks and organic matter (e.g., wood, bones, and shells) can contain radioactive isotopes. The abundances of parent and daughter isotopes in a sample can be measured and used to determine their age. This method is known as radiometric dating.

Which radioactive isotope is used to date very old rocks?

Uranium-lead dating can be used to date igneous rocks from 1 million years to around 4.5 billion years old.

Which radioactive isotopes are useful for dating rocks older than 100000 years old?

For example, the decay of potassium-40 to argon-40 is used to date rocks older than 20,000 years, and the decay of uranium-238 to lead-206 is used for rocks older than 1 million years .Radiometric dating.Dating methodMaterial datedAge range datedLuminescenceTephra, loess, lake sedimentsUp to 100,000 years ago4 more rows•May 20, 2011