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Plate Tectonics Lesson: Website with picture of Plate boundaries: http://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/ess05_int_boundaries/ Part 1: Introduction to the Theory of Plate Tectonics Is Earth's surface stable and stationary now? Was it ever in the past? Do you think it will be stable in the future? Do you think that the way continents fit together is convincing evidence for the theory of plate tectonics? Why or why not? What was the supercontinent called that once contained nearly all of the continental crust? Research what the name means. Which ocean is growing in size? Which is shrinking? Explain why this is occurring. How does the theory of plate tectonics help us explain natural phenomena such as earthquakes and mountains, which geologists had difficulty accounting for prior to the development of the theory? Part 2: The Scientist behind the theory What did Wegener propose as a method of explaining the close fit of the continents on either side of the Atlantic Ocean? What was so unusual about the fossil remains of Mesosaurus? How did clues found in South Africa and Arctic islands support Wegener's theory of continental drift? Why wasn't Wegener's theory accepted at the time? Part 3: Plate Tectonics: Further Evidence What did scientists find by using echo signals along the ocean floor? Describe seafloor spreading. If the sea floor is spreading and Earth is not getting any bigger, where is crust being destroyed? Describe what is meant by a "plate". Part 4: Lake Mead, Nevada What is happening to the North American continent near the longitude of Lake Mead? In the past 20 million years, what has happened to the distance between Los Angeles and Las Vegas? What feature of geological significance does Lake Mead sit atop? Dr. McNutt refers to 20 million years as being a very short time. What time frame is she using? What does Dr. McNutt mean when she says that the continent is falling apart? Using simple materials, such as dominoes and a stretchable fabric, model the creation of slanted layered rock formations. Part 5: Mountain Maker Earth Shaker Go to the following website and follow the directions then answer the questions http://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/ess05_int_shake/ How do scientists explain why, if new crust is constantly being formed from volcanic materials, Earth's crust stays the same size? Why are continental volcanoes associated with oceanic-continental convergent boundaries? Why are the Appalachian Mountains not as high as the Himalayan Mountains even though they were formed in the same way? Why do scientists predict that Los Angeles will be north of San Francisco in 16 million years? Part 6: Interactive Plate Tectonic Maps Go to the following website and click on “Maps” then click on each of the check boxes at the bottom together and separately to explore plate boundaries and where volcanoes, earthquakes, and hotspots are located. http://ees.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/elearning/module04swf.swf Then answer these questions: What phenomena would you expect to see at each of the three different plate boundary types? What do you notice about the distribution of volcanoes? What do you notice about the distribution of earthquakes? Explain how volcanoes, earthquakes, and plate boundaries are related. There are some volcanoes and earthquakes that are not located at plate boundaries. How could you explain their locations?
