Download Erosion and Plate tectonics part 2

Erosion and Plate tectonics part 2 : Plate Tectonics Objectives
1.
2.
Explain how plate tectonics cause continental drift, mountain formations, plateau formation, trenches, and the bending of strata.
Explain how fossils supported the Pangea Theory.
Plate Tectonics
--Land on Earth is ______________________! Instead, it is several pieces of rock ____________ on an ocean of magma.
--Plate Tectonics studies how these rock sections (called _________________)
move and ___________________.
Continental Drift
-- of years ago, Earth was _____________________ called Pangea.
--Over time, the tectonic plates started
_______________, ripping Pangea apart,
and _________________ the continents.
--Called __________________
--The Indian continent was _________________________, and the collision created the ________________ Mountains.
--Even today, The _______________________ is __________________________, causing the mountains to grow a few
inches each year.
--The continents are still moving, at a rate around ______________________.
--The Pangaea Theory was supported when _____________ of the
__________________ and ___________ were found all over the world.
--The plate that _____________ and ________ sits on is being ______________
the Euro-Asian Plate and the Australian Plate at a rate of 2-3 feet per year.
Plate tectonics—Landforms
--The ________________________ are also responsible for creating many of Earth’s land forms…
A. Mountains and hills
--Mountains are created by the ___________ of 2 continental _________________________ as they collide.
--Many large, __________________ are actually ___________________ that have ___________ away into smaller piles.
--The_________________Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountain range, and are the __________ mountain
range in the world, while the ___________ Mountains are some of the _____________.
B. trenches, faults, and volcanoes
--The _______________________________ creates deep ocean trenches miles deep in the ocean as one trench goes
under the other.
--Whole deep-sea ecosystems are kept alive only by the __________________ spewed out by __________________ at
the bottom of these trenches.
--The ____________________ in California is another ________ between 2 plates.
--Most volcanoes in the world are found ________________________.
(The Pacific’s Ring of Fire)
C. Plateaus
--Plateaus (Spanish word for ‘table-topped’) are created by huge
________________ popping up a section of land, and _______________, like an elevator.
--The ____________ is the location of the largest plateau on Earth.
D. Strata curves
--________________ is often _________________ slightly. This is also caused by tectonic forces
____________________ solid rock over hundreds of years.
--Geologists can predict ______________ this happened by studying the _____________________ of strata—
the _____________ layers—and calculate its age with ____________ and Carbon Dating.
Review question
1. Describe what tectonic plates are.
2. How does tectonic plates create mountains
3. Explain how magma underground creates a plateau
4. The Mariana Trench is located along the upper-left edges of the Pacific Plate, where it meets the EuroAsian Plate. How was this trench formed? (see pic above)
5. How did fossils help support the Pangea Theory?
Speaking of Fossils… (objective)
Identify Fossils by their 4 types: Impression, Mold/cast, Trace and True Fossil
--Fossils are the imprints of ___________ things left in the rock.
There are 4 main types: Impression, Mold and Cast, Trace and True Fossils
1. Impression Fossils
--_________________ in rock that are made from animal _______ or
_________________ into mud.
2. Mold/Cast Fossils
-Created when a plant or animal’s body _________________________ leaving an ______________ (mold) in the rock.
--Sometimes, ______________ and other minerals _______________ the
empty space (___________) and create a separate rock that is the
____________________ of what decayed away. (cast).
3. Trace Fossils
These are the remains of things like _________________________
turned to rock by silicates under mud or sand.
4. True Fossils
-- the _________________of the plant or animal get
_______________ after death.
Why are fossils useful
--Using all fossil types from a certain species helps scientists learn about animals that have been extinct millions of years
ago.
Example: Raptors
1. True fossils of their ____________ made it possible to see what they may have _______________, and how
they may have ______________.
2. Imprint and Trace fossils of __________________ and ________________ show how they lived.
3. Mold and cast fossils also show the _______________,
proving that raptors were ___________, and not amphibians,
birds or mammals.
Review Questions
1.
Describe EACH of the 4 fossil types below, and give/draw 1 example of EACH.
Impression
Mold + Cast
Trace
True Fossil