Answer :
Final answer:
Samarium-147 is useful for radiometric dating due to its extremely long half-life of 107 billion years, allowing for accurate measurement over vast geological timescales. Its slow decay enables scientists to date ancient rocks effectively. This property distinguishes Sm-147 as a valuable tool in understanding the history of Earth's geology.
Explanation:
Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt and Sm-147
The age of geological formations, such as those found in the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, can be determined using radioactive isotopes, like samarium-147 (Sm-147). One of the key properties that makes Sm-147 useful for radiometric dating is its long half-life of 107 billion years. This means that it decays very slowly, allowing scientists to measure the ratio of Sm-147 to its daughter isotopes over significant geological timescales. The long half-life provides a stable and reliable measure for dating ancient rocks and minerals, which is essential when analyzing objects that are billions of years old.
Other factors, such as how Sm-147 decays by emitting alpha particles, are indeed characteristic of its decay process, but they do not contribute to its usefulness in dating compared to its stable and long half-life. Compared to other isotopes like uranium-238, which also serve as a dating tool, Sm-147's incredibly long half-life is particularly advantageous when dating ancient geological formations.
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