Question: What are the limits on radiometric dating?

Radiometric dating is a very useful tool, but it does have limits: The material being dated must have measurable amounts of the parent and/or the daughter isotopes. Radiometric dating can be done on only some materials. It is not useful for determining the age of sedimentary rocks.

Is there an upper or lower limit to radiometric dating?

The reason it isnt 1 million year old is because the half-life of 14-C is about 5 730 years, which means after about 50 000 years there is no more 14-C to measure, hence the limit of that dating technique is about 50 000 years. All different decay series have upper and lower limits for which they work effectively.

Reach out

Find us at the office

Ravi- Hoult street no. 33, 84286 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Give us a ring

Shammah Ceragioli
+38 858 597 690
Mon - Fri, 9:00-15:00

Join us