This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
radiometric dating
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
any method of determining the age of earth materials or objects of organic origin based on measurement of either short-lived radioactive elements or the amount of a long-lived radioactive element plus its decay product.
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I canāt figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Also called radioactive dating.
Origin of radiometric dating
First recorded in 1965ā70
Words nearby radiometric dating
radioluminescence, radiolysis, radioman, radiometeorograph, radiometer, radiometric dating, radiomicrometer, radio microphone, radiomimetic, radionics, radionuclide
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use radiometric dating in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for radiometric dating
radiometric dating
noun
any method of dating material based on the decay of its constituent radioactive atoms, such as potassium-argon dating or rubidium-strontium datingAlso called: radioactive dating
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for radiometric dating
radiometric dating
[ rÄā²dÄ-Å-mÄtā²rÄk ]
A method for determining the age of an object based on the concentration of a particular radioactive isotope contained within it. For inorganic materials, such as rocks containing the radioactive isotope rubidium, the amount of the isotope in the object is compared to the amount of the isotope's decay products (in this case strontium). The object's approximate age can then be figured out using the known rate of decay of the isotope. For organic materials, the comparison is between the current ratio of a radioactive isotope to a stable isotope of the same element and the known ratio of the two isotopes in living organisms. Radiocarbon dating is one such type of radiometric dating.
The American HeritageĀ® Science Dictionary
Copyright Ā© 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.