This set of activities from the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology has students investigating how relative dating and absolute dating methods are used to determine the age of rocks and fossils.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How to determine the relative ages of rocks.

Discover the relative age of rocks by identifying sedimentary rock and observing its layers.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How scientists have been able to determine the age of the Earth.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How scientists have been able to determine the age of Earth.

This is an in-depth activity where students create a rock layer formation using different colors of playdough and investigate the types of folds and rock formations that might occur. They take core samples through anticlines and...

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Introduces Steno's laws, which allow scientists to decipher the geological events that occurred and the order in which they took place, including how the relative...

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Distinguishes how to tell which rock unit is older than the ones around it and so reveal the geologic history of the region.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How rock layers in different locations can be connected to make pictures of a region's geology.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How rock layers in different locations can be connected to make pictures of a region's geology.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How relative positions of rocks allow scientists to compare their ages.

A lengthy scholarly article that discusses the geologic time scale, its history of development, age-dating events that occurred in different eras, and how absolute and relative dating are used to assess the ages of the Earth and Moon....

An explanation of radiometric or absolute dating of geological formations based on using the half-life of radioactive elements to figure out how old given rock layers are. A link on the left provides information about relative dating as...

Extensive information about the geology of the Grand Canyon. Looks at some principles of geology evident there, forces that have shaped its geological features, how its valleys and canyons were formed, the characteristics of the Colorado...

Geologists generally know the age of a rock by determining the age of the group of rocks, or formation, that it is found in. The age of formations is marked on a geologic calendar known as the geologic time scale. Development of the...

Explains what absolute dating is as compared to relative dating and how they can work together. The characteristics of several different radiometric methods are compared. Includes three short videos and an interactive where students...

The San Andrea is an active fault zone, marked by frequent earthquake activity. The crust southwest of this strike-slip fault (including Los Angeles) is sliding to the northwest relative to the other side. It is possible to estimate the...

Find out how scientists can find out the age of the rocks they are studying.

A lesson plan containing two activities for students to gain a better understanding of geologic time scale. The first activity allows students to get a visual of geologic time by role playing events in time on a football field. The...

Some very basic information on the Treaty of Tordesillas and geographic information related to South America.

This website integrates video footage and information with lesson plans and activities to teach students about the concept of relative dating. Students will graph a range chart for ammonites, determine the geologic age for several rocks,...

In this activity, students gain a better understanding of radioactive dating and half-lives by using M&Ms to demonstrate the idea of radioactive decay. They will be able to see how scientists can determine the age of rocks by looking...

An 81-page slideshow that looks at the principles of geology with respect to relative dating, at different concepts describing geological processes, at absolute age and radiometric dating, at the eons and eras in the geologic time scale,...

This WebQuest is a critical thinking challenge for students, ages 11-14. The task will require students to help anthropologists interpret a piece of Viking writing carved on a rock. Studying documents related to Norse culture, politics,...