EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Earth is estimated to be 4.54 billion years old, plus or minus about 50 million years.

Detailed explanation-2: -By dating the rocks in Earth’s ever-changing crust, as well as the rocks in Earth’s neighbors, such as the moon and visiting meteorites, scientists have calculated that Earth is 4.54 billion years old, with an error range of 50 million years. Related: How big is Earth?

Detailed explanation-3: -It is widely accepted by both geologists and astronomers that Earth is roughly 4.6 billion years old. This age has been obtained from the isotopic analysis of many meteorites as well as of soil and rock samples from the Moon by such dating methods as rubidium–strontium and uranium–lead.

Detailed explanation-4: -An age of 4.55 ± 0.07 billion years, very close to today’s accepted age, was determined by Clair Cameron Patterson using uranium–lead isotope dating (specifically lead–lead dating) on several meteorites including the Canyon Diablo meteorite and published in 1956.

Detailed explanation-5: -We know that life began at least 3.5 billion years ago, because that is the age of the oldest rocks with fossil evidence of life on earth. These rocks are rare because subsequent geologic processes have reshaped the surface of our planet, often destroying older rocks while making new ones.