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ConcepTest: Oldest Rock Dating #2

ConcepTest questions by David McConnell , David Steer , Walter Borowski, Jeffrey Dick, Annabelle Foos, Jeffrey Knott, Alvin Konigsberg, Michelle Malone, Heidi McGrew, Kathie Owens, and Stephen Van Horn

Question:

The world's oldest known rock is approximately 4 billion (4,000 million) years old. What are the approximate relative percentages of parent (Uranium-235) and daughter (Lead-207) isotopes? The half-life of 235U = 704 million years.

a. 35% parent & 65% daughter
b. 12% parent & 88% daughter
c. 2% parent & 98% daughter
d. 0.5% parent & 99.5% daughter

Student Responses:

No data yet. The correct response is c.

If you would like to help acquire more Before and After statistics for this example, please contact the authors (see link at top of page).

References and Notes:

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