the age of geological formations which are associated with fossil remains of early hominid sites from rocks as old as 2 billion years old and as recent as 100, 000 years old. Based on the steady but very slow decay of the radioactive potassium-40 isotope to the inert gas argon-40 isotope in igneous/volcanic rocks. Fossils are not dated but the rocks that surrounds them assuming they are of the same age as of the rock. The rock layers above and below the fossil are dated using K-Ar dating to get a minimum and maximum age of the fossils sandwiched between the two layers. Rocks Rocks that can be used in this process are: 1. Igneous rocks 2. Volcanic Rocks 3. Volcanic Ash (hardened) *Most resistant to later argon diffusion are: biotite, muscovite, sanidine *Other possible igneous/metamorphic rocks: Hornblende, anorthoclase, plagioclase, leucite, nepheline, phlogopite, and lepidolite 1. Argon is inert. -does not chemically react with other elements 2. Argon is a gas. -it just bubbles up when it is present in the liquid, flowing lava -it escapes from the rock when it is heated in very high temperatures When lava flows over the land, the naturally occurring argon gas is driven off by excessive/intense heat. (no more argon gas inside) As the lava cools and hardens into a rock (crystallization), it becomes a closed system which traps the argon-40 gas that will form from the decay of potassium-40 inside the rock. The formation of the rock which also drives off any naturally occurring argon formerly present sets the radioactive clock to zero. 1. Samples are collected and then crushed. 2. Treatment of Hydrofluoric acid to remove remaining atmospheric argon from the sample. 3. Sample is heated to extract and isolate the argon gas into a separate container 4. Gases are then monitored and subjected to mass spectrometry/ spectrographic analysis. Ratio of Potassium-40 and Argon-40 atoms After the examining the sample in the lab, you should now know the ff: 1. Potassium-40 content found 2. Argon-40 content found 3. Half-life of Potassium-40: 1.31 billion years You may now compute the date of the rock using the exponential formula for decay: N(t)=
where: N(t)- amount of potassium-40 that
changes through time
-initial amount of potassium-40 in the
sample k-constant t-half-life of potassium-40 (1.31 billion years) Has a wide range of time. Can be used to date rocks that are associated with fossils that lived a very long time before. Very useful for dating artifacts that are found near volcanic areas. o It can only be used to date sites buried by volcanic formations. o It is rarely possible to achieve an accuracy of better than 10%. o It can only be used with rocks that contained no argon gas when they were formed. o Possible contamination of atmospheric argon gas. o Possible loss of argon gas after formation of rocks. o Rocks to be used should not have gone through a heating-recrystallization process after its initial formation. o Standard deviations resulting from this method are very large. o Expensive. -volcanic area (volcanic tuff beds) -9 miles and 350 feet deep site -excavated by Louis and Mary Leakey (mid-1950s) - fossils of Austrolopithecus (Paranthropus) boisei, Homo habilis, Homo erectus - Achulean and Oldowan stone tool assemblages -almost 2 million years of occupation -bones of about 1.75 million years of age -determination of age of tuffs associated with early hominid finds extending the chronology of human existence back further than 2 million years -association of lava with human settlements in East Africa -Australopithecus of age 4.5 million years -stone flakes and chopping tools of age 2.6 million years -earliest date for human artifacts -Homo erectus-bearing levels dated by Berkeley scientists -1.8 million years (laser-fusion technique) http://anthro.palomar.edu/time/time_5.htm http://archserve.id.ucsb.edu/courses/anth/fagan/anth3/Courseware/Chronology/09_Potassium_Arg on_Dating.html http://www.creation-science-prophecy.com/K-Ar-dating.htm https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/life-earth-universe/measuring- age-tutorial/v/potassium-argon-k-ar-dating https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/life-earth-universe/measuring- age-tutorial/v/k-ar-dating-calculation http://archaeology.about.com/od/oterms/g/olduvai.htm http://www.boneandstone.com/articles/detrich_04.html http://australianmuseum.net.au/Homo-habilis
