Chapter 12, Problem 1RQ

To determine

The difference between the numerical age and relative age.

Answer to Problem 1RQ

A time that indicates the formation of rock in years is termed as numerical age and a statement of ordinal timing is referred to as relative age.

Explanation of Solution

Numerical age and relative age are two different methods to denote the age of an event or a feature. The relative age of a feature or an event is determined with respect to another in a sequence. Numerical age is used to provide the age of a feature or event in years.

Different units are used to denote the numerical ages. They are as follows: Ka for thousands of years, Ma for millions of years, and Ga for billions of years. The letter “K” stands for kilo, “M” for mega, and “G” for giga.

An example for the way to express relative age is “sedimentary rocks of Ordovician were deposited after the Cambrian and before Silurian.”