Rock and Fossil Dating

name        Bason
status       student
grade        9-12
location     TX

Question -   Evolutionist say that they can date a fossil by the
rock that its in and they can date the rock by the fossil. How can
they do this?
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That is not actually accurate.  First off, it is not just "evolutionists"
that say that one can with reasonable accurately predict the age of a
fossil...almost any reputable geologist, physicist, biologist, or chemist
would agree.  It depends on the age of the fossil...or for that matter
biological sample.  Carbon dating goes like this...

Carbon 14 is produced when nitrogen 14 is bombarded by cosmic rays in the
upper atmosphere.  The Carbon 14 makes its way throughout the atmosphere is
absorbed from the air by plants through photosynthesis. When animals eat the
plants they incorporate the C14 into their tissues. When an organism dies,
it stops incorporating C14. The C14 that is already in the organism decays
at a constant rate. Carbon 14 decays at a steady rate and changing to
nitrogen 14.  The half life of carbon 14 is 5730 years. In 5730 years half
of the Carbon 14 that was in the organism when it died will have decayed
into nitrogen 14. After about 50,000 years, the amount of C14 remaining will
be so small that the fossil can't be dated reliably. Scientists are
distrustful of their own measurements, so they like it when they can at the
same time have some other system to ensure they are accurate.  One of the
most common ways scientists make sure of the accuracy of carbon dating is
with tree rings. Another is with historical records. These only go so far
back in history.  For dating of samples older than 40-50 thousand years we
use other isotopes but it is more complicated but still backed up in a
variety of ways so that almost any reasonable person would believe it.

pf
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