Potassium-Argon Dating

A radioactive counting technique used to date

the age of geological formations which are
associated with fossil remains of early hominid
sites from rocks as old as 2 billion years old and
as recent as 100, 000 years old.
Based on the steady but very slow decay of the
radioactive potassium-40 isotope to the inert
gas argon-40 isotope in igneous/volcanic rocks.
Fossils are not dated but the rocks that
surrounds them assuming they are of the same
age as of the rock.
The rock layers above and below the fossil are
dated using K-Ar dating to get a minimum and
maximum age of the fossils sandwiched
between the two layers.
Rocks
Rocks that can be used in this process are:
1. Igneous rocks
2. Volcanic Rocks
3. Volcanic Ash (hardened)
*Most resistant to later argon diffusion are: biotite, muscovite, sanidine
*Other possible igneous/metamorphic rocks: Hornblende, anorthoclase, plagioclase, leucite,
nepheline, phlogopite, and lepidolite
1. Argon is inert.
-does not chemically react with other elements
2. Argon is a gas.
-it just bubbles up when it is present in the liquid, flowing lava
-it escapes from the rock when it is heated in very high temperatures
When lava flows over the land, the naturally occurring argon gas is driven off by
excessive/intense heat. (no more argon gas inside)
As the lava cools and hardens into a rock (crystallization), it becomes a closed
system which traps the argon-40 gas that will form from the decay of
potassium-40 inside the rock.
The formation of the rock which also drives off any naturally occurring argon
formerly present sets the radioactive clock to zero.
1. Samples are collected and then
crushed.
2. Treatment of Hydrofluoric acid to
remove remaining atmospheric argon
from the sample.
3. Sample is heated to extract and
isolate the argon gas into a separate
container
4. Gases are then monitored and
subjected to mass spectrometry/
spectrographic analysis.
Ratio of Potassium-40 and Argon-40 atoms
After the examining the sample in the lab, you
should now know the ff:
1. Potassium-40 content found
2. Argon-40 content found
3. Half-life of Potassium-40: 1.31 billion years
You may now compute the date of the rock using
the exponential formula for decay:
N(t)=

where: N(t)- amount of potassium-40 that

changes through time

-initial amount of potassium-40 in the

sample
k-constant
t-half-life of potassium-40 (1.31 billion
years)
Has a wide range of time.
Can be used to date rocks that are associated with fossils that lived a very long time before.
Very useful for dating artifacts that are found near volcanic areas.
o It can only be used to date sites buried by volcanic formations.
o It is rarely possible to achieve an accuracy of better than 10%.
o It can only be used with rocks that contained no argon gas when they were formed.
o Possible contamination of atmospheric argon gas.
o Possible loss of argon gas after formation of rocks.
o Rocks to be used should not have gone through a heating-recrystallization process after its
initial formation.
o Standard deviations resulting from this method are very large.
o Expensive.
-volcanic area (volcanic tuff beds)
-9 miles and 350 feet deep site
-excavated by Louis and Mary Leakey (mid-1950s)
- fossils of Austrolopithecus (Paranthropus) boisei,
Homo habilis, Homo erectus
- Achulean and Oldowan stone tool assemblages
-almost 2 million years of occupation
-bones of about 1.75 million years of age
-determination of age of tuffs associated with early hominid finds extending the
chronology of human existence back further than 2 million years
-association of lava with human settlements in East Africa
-Australopithecus of age 4.5 million years
-stone flakes and chopping tools of age 2.6 million years
-earliest date for human artifacts
-Homo erectus-bearing levels dated by Berkeley scientists
-1.8 million years (laser-fusion technique)
http://anthro.palomar.edu/time/time_5.htm
http://archserve.id.ucsb.edu/courses/anth/fagan/anth3/Courseware/Chronology/09_Potassium_Arg
on_Dating.html
http://www.creation-science-prophecy.com/K-Ar-dating.htm
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/life-earth-universe/measuring-
age-tutorial/v/potassium-argon-k-ar-dating
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/life-earth-universe/measuring-
age-tutorial/v/k-ar-dating-calculation
http://archaeology.about.com/od/oterms/g/olduvai.htm
http://www.boneandstone.com/articles/detrich_04.html
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Homo-habilis