Relative age is the age of one rock layer, or fossil, in comparison
with another. Rock layers close to the earth's surface are younger than those
farther from the earth's surface. If several layers of rock are present, the
layer closest to the bottom is the oldest. Relative age can be used to estimate
the ages of fossils. For example, if the approximate age of one rock layer is
known, a nearby rock layer containing similar fossils is about the same age.
Use the diagrams below and the information from above to answer
the following questions.
2. The rock layer in Figure 2 that is the youngest layer is
layer I (because it's at the surface). The oldest layer is layer M (it's the
deepest).
---------- ----------
Slichter