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Question:

Which of the following is the relatively most accurate method for dating of fossils?

Electron-spin resonance method

Uranium-lead method

Potassium-argon method

Radio-carbon method

Solution:

Electron spin resonance is also based on the fact that background radiation causes electrons to dislodge from their normal positions in atoms and become trapped in the crystalline lattice of the material. When odd numbers of electrons are separated, there is a measurable change in the magnetic field (or spin) of the atoms. Since, the magnetic field progressively changes with time in a predictable way as a result of this process, it provides another atomic clock, or calendar, that can be used for dating purposes. Unlike, thermoluminescence dating, however, the sample is not destroyed with the ESR method. This allows samples to be dated more than once. ESR is used mostly to date calcium carbonate in limestone, coral, fossil teeth, mollusks, and egg shells. It also can date quartz and flint. Paleoanthropologists have used ESR mostly to date samples from the last 300,000 years.However, it potentially could be used for much older samples. So, it can be the most accurate method of fossil dating.So, the correct answer is 'Electron-spin resonance method'