Final answer:
Relative age dating is a method that geologists use to determine the sequence of events in geological history without providing exact ages. It contrasts with absolute dating, which uses radioactive isotopes to determine numerical ages. Principles such as the law of superposition help establish whether one rock layer or fossil is older or younger than another.
Step-by-step explanation:
Relative age dating is a method used by geologists to determine the sequence of events in Earth's geological history. This method establishes the relative order of past events by comparing rock layers and fossils within them. Unlike absolute dating, relative age dating does not provide numerical ages in years. Instead, it uses principles such as the law of superposition, which states that in undisturbed strata, older layers are found beneath younger ones, thus fossil or rock sample 1 found at a deeper level is older than sample 2 found at a higher level.
By observing strata in locations such as canyons, geologists can construct a timeline of geological occurrences based on their relative positions. While relative age dating allows a geologist to piece together a series of events efficiently and is versatile across various rock types, it is important to note that it does not offer exact chronological ages like those obtained from radioactive dating methods such as carbon-14 dating.
Both absolute and relative dating are crucial to geology and are frequently used to interpret the Earth's history. While absolute dating methods can assign an exact age to rocks or fossils, relative dating is indispensable for understanding the order and context of geological formations and fossil records before precise dating is applied.