Download paleomagnetism lab procedure

Name_____________________________________________Class_______________Date____________
Station 6 PALEOMAGNETISM – MAGNETIC MEMORIES
*Have one of your group members see me to trade a shoe for a compass.
1. Draw a sketch of the model. It should have SIX (6) ridges and a central zone.
2. Place the compass in the middle on top of each of the six ridges so that N on the compass is
toward the N side of the model (if you are not getting needle readings that are N or S get me for
help). On your sketch, record the direction that the colored tip of the compass needle points for
each ridge.
3. Using your pencil shade the zones/ridges where the needle points toward N.
4. Do you see a pattern? Briefly describe it.
5. Explain what is happening in the central zone by drawing and writing on your diagram.
6. Where are the oldest rocks? Where are the youngest? Explain how this sequence makes sense.
Hints:
When minerals containing iron crystallize, they “lock in” the existing magnetic field of the Earth. A
record of the Earth’s changing magnetic field is recorded in rocks that form where plates separate.
Where plates separate, magma (molten rock beneath the surface) flows up through the gap to create
new crust.
Ships and airplanes carry magnetometers to measure magnetic fields remotely.