Question

read the passage and answer the following question(s).
dating rock strata
scientists can determine the age of rock layers by measuring radioactive elements found in sedimentary rocks
radioactive elements found in sedimentary rocks
decay quickly, so this method can only date
sedimentary rocks that are less than 50,000 years old.
volcanic rock contains radioactive elements that decay
very slowly, so scientists can date volcanic rocks that
are much older than 50,000 years.
a team of scientists is investigating a rock formation
found in a region. the diagram shows the rock
formation that the scientists are investigating.
use the drop - down menus to complete the sentences.
scientists can determine the
rock above and below the volcanic layers by using the law of
forms
choose...
choose...
choose...
dates of

Explanation:

The passage mentions that volcanic rock contains radioactive elements that decay very slowly. Absolute dating uses radioactive elements to determine the actual age (in years) of rocks. The diagram shows specific ages (like 240 million years, 400 million years, 550 million years) for volcanic rock layers. Absolute dating provides a numerical age, which matches the context of determining the dates (numerical ages) of volcanic layers. The law of superposition (a principle in relative dating) is about the order of rock layers (younger on top of older), but here we are dealing with getting actual age values (dates) which is characteristic of absolute dating.

Answer:

absolute