Potassium-Argon Dating Potassium-Argon (K-Ar) dating is the most widely applied technique of radiometric dating. Potassium is a component in many common minerals and can be used to determine the ages of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

What materials are used in radiocarbon dating?

Background: Radiocarbon dating of materials is a radiometric dating technique that uses the decay of carbon-14 (14C) to estimate the age of organic materials, such as paper and parchment.

Is argon argon dating relative?

Relative dating only The 40Ar/39Ar method only measures relative dates. In order for an age to be calculated by the 40Ar/39Ar technique, the J parameter must be determined by irradiating the unknown sample along with a sample of known age for a standard.

Why do scientists use potassium-40 when dating ancient rocks?

This dating method is based upon the decay of radioactive potassium-40 to radioactive argon-40 in minerals and rocks; potassium-40 also decays to calcium-40. On the other hand, the abundance of argon in the Earth is relatively small because of its escape to the atmosphere during processes associated with volcanism.