Question

(5 pts.) When meteorites fall to the earth, we can sometimes measure the ages by studying the amounts of different radioactive elements that they contain, in pieces called "calcium-aluminum-rich-inclusions". The oldest known meteorites are slightly less than 5 billion years old. Suppose that in the future, we use radiometric dating on a meteorite and find that it is 7 billion years old. To explain this unusually large age, someone proposes: "Perhaps this meteorite is from another galaxy." Evaluate this proposal. Does this hypothesis make sense? Write a few sentences explaining why or why not. If not, propose a similar but more reasonable hypothesis.

Answer 1

For a meteorite whose age is determined to be more than 5 billion years of age, lets say seven billion years of age, would be reasonably inside the limit of the age of the universe which is 13.7 billion years, but would be significantly out ot the range of the the age of our solar system. Now for a piece of rock oleder than the age of the solar system has to be a part of something previoulsy that was not a part of the solar system. Hence a better hypothesis might be that the meterite is from another planetary systyem from within the smae galacy rather than beiong a part of any other galaxy as probability of some opbject crossing between galaxies is far lower than some objects crossing between solar systems between the same galaxy becaus eo fhte order of magnitude differnece of the distance between galaxcies and solar systems