Plate Tectonics Notes

Have the continents always

been where they are today? If

so, explain how they were

made…If not, explain how

they moved to their present

positions and when did they

move.

Warm up 9/10/13

Your Notes:

On your sheet of paper you should write each part of your class work assignment in addition to the slides listed above.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL NOTES, EVEN THE SECTIONS YOU DIDN’T DO!

Draw Alfred Wegener

Draw the Earth’s layers

with convection currents

(Include Asthenosphere

and Lithosphere)

List and describe 3 of Wegener’s

Evidence of Continental Drift

Explain the theory of

plate tectonics. This

should be detailed

1. Explain how convection works

2. How does temperature in the earth help create cont. Drift?

3. What does density have to do with the composition of the Earth’s layers?

List and explain what scientist learned from

drilling in the sea floor

Draw Wegener

What is going on?

So where did it begin?

We don’t exactly know how the universe began but some scientist theorized…

Remember theories are just a HYPOTHESIS!

Approximately 4.6 billion years ago the Earth was formed when bits of material collided into one another creating larger pieces of gas and solid chunks

Denser materials (heavier) such as iron sank towrds the center of the core

Less dense (lighter) like oxygen and silicon moved towards the surface

Crust and Mantle: Lithosphere and Asthenosphere

The Earth’s crust and the mantle together make up the Lithosphere

This is the most rigid of all the layers

The lithosphere sits on top of asthenosphere, a layer of hotter, softer rock in upper mantle

If you look at a map of the world, you may notice that some of the continents could fit together like pieces of a puzzle

One Giant Landmass…Is it Possible?

http://geography.howstuffworks.com/pangaea-videos-playlist.htm

Tell me in your own words Wegener’s theory.

What was his evidence

Fossils – Similar fossils found on different continents.

Climate – Climate change shows tropical plants in Greenland and glacial streaks in South Africa.

Rocks – Similar rocks and formations on different continents.

Fossils

Climate

Rocks

So how did the landmass move?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0dWF_3PYh4

Plate tectonics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-HwPR_4mP4

- Mid Ocean Ridge- Underwater mountain system formed by

divergent plate boundaries.

- Ocean Trench- Deep depression in the ocean floor formed by

convergent plate boundaries.

AC

D

B

Draw the missing arrows and name the plate boundaries

Magnetic Reversal*

- The changing in direction of the Earth’s magnetic poles.

- When the Earth’s poles do change direction, the rocks on the seafloor become magnetically charged in the opposite direction.

- The youngest rock records are the closest to the mid ocean ridge

Compare Earth to a Magnet

Compare Earth to a Magnet

Compare Earth to a Magnet