AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -absolute age compares rock with surrounding rock while relative age is how many years since the rock was formed. absolute age compares rock with surrounding rock while relative age is how many years since the rock was formed.

Detailed explanation-2: -The relative age of a rock is its age in comparison with other rocks. If you know the relative ages of two rock layers, you know which is older and which is younger, but you do not know how old the layers are in years.

Detailed explanation-3: -Relative age refers to the approximate age of a specific rock layer. It is determined by comparing its position to other rock layers. The process used to establish whether a rock layer or a geologic event is older or younger than the other without knowing their specific ages is called relative dating.

Detailed explanation-4: -Remember that in relative dating, scientists do not determine the exact age of a fossil or rock. They look at a sequence of rocks to try to decipher when an event occurred relative to the other events represented in that sequence. The relative age of a rock, then, is its age in comparison with other rocks.

Detailed explanation-5: -According to the law of superposition, in horizontal sedimentary rock layers the oldest is at the bottom. Each higher layer is younger than the layer below it. There are two other rules that aid in determining the relative ages of rocks.