Relative dating determines age without providing an exact year.

• A. Absolute Dating
• B. Stratigraphy
• C. Relative Dating
• D. Radiometric Dating

Answer: (C)

Relative dating focuses on the order of events rather than exact years. It uses principles like superposition (younger rocks sit atop older ones), cross-cutting relationships (features like faults or intrusions are younger than the rocks they affect), and fossil correlation to compare and sequence rocks and fossils. Because it establishes which is older or younger without assigning a specific date, it explains why a rock sequence has a particular age order but not a numerical year. In contrast, absolute dating provides actual years, and radiometric dating is a way to perform absolute dating by measuring radioactive decay. Stratigraphy helps interpret rock layers and their relationships, often supporting relative dating, but it’s not the method that yields precise numerical ages.