Why are radioactive materials used to date rocks?

By establishing geological timescales, radiometric dating provides a significant source of information about the ages of fossils and rates of evolutionary change, and it is also used to date archaeological materials, including ancient artifacts.

Why is dating meteorites useful?

Meteorites, which are the very components of our planets (through the process of accretion), are the remnants of the Solar Systems origins. Dating meteorites thus allows us to give a lower age to the Solar System (4,56 billion years old).

What is the radioactive age of a rock?

To establish the age of a rock or a fossil, researchers use some type of clock to determine the date it was formed. Geologists commonly use radiometric dating methods, based on the natural radioactive decay of certain elements such as potassium and carbon, as reliable clocks to date ancient events.

How do you date a meteor?

Scientists typically determine the age of a rock or meteorite by using the isochron method. For purposes of illustration, consider the rubidium-strontium decay system. In this system, the radioactive parent rubidium-87 (87Rb) decays to the stable daughter isotope strontium-87 (87Sr).