Curriculum
Science — Third Preparatory
Science — Third Preparatory
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Unit 1 — Chemical Reactions and Their Environmental Impacts
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Question bank: Unit 1 — Chemical Reactions and Their Environmental Impacts
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Unit 2 — Electricity and Magnetism
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Question bank: Unit 2 — Electricity and Magnetism
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Unit 3 — Variation of Traits in Living Organisms
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Question bank: Unit 3 — Variation of Traits in Living Organisms
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Unit 4 — Dating Planet Earth
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- 1.1 How do we know that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago?
- 1.2 What is a fossil and how does it form?
- 1.3 Types of fossils
- 1.4 The fossil record
- 1.5 The importance of the fossil record
- 1.6 Causes of the diversity of life forms through time
- 1.7 Comparative anatomy
- 1.8 Summary of Lesson 1
- 2.1 How old is Earth?
- 2.2 The geologic time scale
- 2.3 Reading Earth's history from rocks and fossils
- 2.4 Determining the age of rocks
- 2.5 Relative age
- 2.6 Absolute age
- 2.7 Comparing relative and absolute dating
- 2.8 Exploiting resources and extinction (issue)
- 2.9 Summary of Lesson 2
- How a fossil forms, step by step
- How to read a rock column (relative dating)
- Choosing a dating method
- Half-life calculation recipe
- Common mistakes
- 📌 Comprehensive Scientific Terminology & Definitions:
- ⚖️ Governing Scientific Laws, Principles & Mathematical Formulas:
- 🔍 In-Depth Explanations, Deductions & Core Concepts:
- 📊 Common Radioactive Isotopes Used in Absolute Geological Dating:
- 💡 High-Yield Exam Traps & Key Takeaways:
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Question bank: Unit 4 — Dating Planet Earth
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Science — Third Preparatory 2026/2027
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Unit 1 - Force, Motion, Acceleration and Physical Quantities
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Text lesson
Unit 4 — Dating Planet Earth
Unit 4 — Dating Planet Earth
📊 Common Radioactive Isotopes Used in Absolute Geological Dating:
📊 Common Radioactive Isotopes Used in Absolute Geological Dating:
| Radioactive Parent Isotope | Stable Daughter Product | Half-Life (t1/2) | Effective Dating Age Range | Suitable Geological Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon-14 (¹⁴C) | Nitrogen-14 (¹⁴N) | 5,730 years | 100 to 50,000 years |
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| Potassium-40 (⁴⁰K) | Argon-40 (⁴⁰Ar) | 1.25 billion years | 100,000 to 4.6 billion years | Volcanic igneous rocks, micas, feldspars |
| Uranium-238 (²³⁸U) | Lead-206 (²⁰⁶Pb) | 4.47 billion years | 10 million to 4.6 billion years | Zircon crystals in ancient igneous rocks |
| Rubidium-87 (⁸⁷Rb) | Strontium-87 (⁸⁷Sr) | 48.8 billion years | 10 million to 4.6 billion years | Oldest metamorphic rocks and meteorites |
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