In botany, plant cuticles are protective, hydrophobic, waxy coverings produced by the epidermal cells of leaves, young shoots and all other aerial plant organs.Cuticles minimize water loss and effectively reduce pathogen entry due to their waxy secretion.he cuticle both prevents plant surfaces from becoming wet and helps to prevent plants from drying out. Xerophytic plants such as cactus have very thick cuticles to help them survive in their arid climates.
radiometric dating. n. 1. (Archaeology) any method of dating material based on the decay of its constituent radioactive atoms, such as potassium-argon dating or rubidium-strontium dating. Also called: radioactive dating.
Radiometric dating is based upon the fact that some forms of chemical elements are radioactive, which was discovered in 1896 by Henri Becquerel and his assistants, Marie and Pierre Curie. The discovery gave scientists a tool for dating rocks that contain radioactive elements.adiometric dating works best on igneous rocks, which are formed from the cooling of molten rock, or magma. As magma cools, radioactive parent isotopes are separated from previously formed daughter isotopes by the crystallization process.