Answer: When dividing Uranium into four parts to mark each half-life, Uranium-238 is much more of an approximation than Carbon-14. This is because Uranium-238 decomposes so much more slowly and its range is much less spread out.

Why is uranium used to date older objects?

The more lead the rock contains, the older it is. The long half-life of uranium-238 makes it possible to date only the oldest rocks. This method is not reliable for measuring the age of rocks less than 10 million years old because so little of the uranium will have decayed within that period of time.

Why is uranium used in radioactive dating?

Uranium-Lead Dating It works because we know the fixed radioactive decay rates of uranium-238, which decays to lead-206, and for uranium-235, which decays to lead-207. So, we start out with two isotopes of uranium that are unstable and radioactive.

What is the difference between carbon dating and uranium dating?

The key difference between carbon dating and uranium dating is that carbon dating uses radioactive isotopes of carbon, whereas uranium dating uses uranium, which is a radioactive chemical element. Carbon dating and uranium dating are two important methods of determining the age of different organic materials.

Why is it that carbon-14 radioactive dating is not the best to be used when determining the age of a dinosaur older than a million years old?

But carbon-14 dating wont work on dinosaur bones. The half-life of carbon-14 is only 5,730 years, so carbon-14 dating is only effective on samples that are less than 50,000 years old. To determine the ages of these specimens, scientists need an isotope with a very long half-life.