Question

Explain how index fossils can be used to date newly discovered fossils.

Identify another method that could be used to determine the age of the fossil.
Explain why determining the age of the new fossil find is important to scientists.

Answer 1

Some fossils, known as index fossils, help geologists balance rock layers. A fossil must be broadly dispersed to be a valuable index fossil and indicate a form of organism that has lived for a short time. Index fossils are valuable when the relative ages of the rock layers are told.

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Answer 2

1) Index fossils are of organisms that lived over a wide area. They lived for a fairly short period of time. An index fossil allows a scientist to determine the age of the rock it is in.

2) Relative dating is used to determine a fossils approximate age by comparing it to similar rocks and fossils of known ages.

Step-by-step explanation: