In relative fossil dating, where will the oldest fossils be found?
1 Answer
On the bottom.
Explanation:
Generally when relatively dating strata or fossils in strata the oldest material will be below the newest material which means oldest on the bottom and newest on the top. Think of making a brick-wall, the first bricks to be put down are those on the bottom which makes them older than those at the top of the wall.
The above picture shows the oldest material on the bottom, younger material on top and then the youngest material. The youngest cuts all layers which means those layers were there before the youngest layer cut them.
This is not always the case though! Sometimes strata can up turned over. Meaning what's oldest will be on top and the youngest on the bottom. So when in the field observing rocks and trying to relatively date you can use techniques such as grading (in sedimentary rocks) to help tell which way is up.
Try checking out this link to play a little relative dating game to help cement the concept.
