Mesosaurus Mystery
True or False
The Mesosaurus was found on two different continents because there was a bridge between South America and Africa millions of years ago and the Mesosaurus was able to walk across.
False
What landforms are created when two oceanic plate diverge?
volcanoes and mid-ocean ridge
Which technology tracks plate motion today?
GPS
What was Alfred Wegener's claim?
millions of years ago the continents were once all together in a supercontinent but over time drifted apart
What is the name for an underwater mountain range formed when two plates move apart?
True/False
Underneath the soil, Earth’s outer layer is made of hard, solid rock. Underneath the ocean, Earth’s outer layer is made of sand.
False
What landforms are created when an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate?
a trench and volcanoes
Plate material is made at which type of plate boundary?
Alfred Wegener noticed the continents fit like a puzzle if you used which part?
continental shelves
What do you call a diagram that shows the inside of something?
How did the Mesosaurus Fossils end up on two different continents?
The fossils are on two different plates with a divergent plate boundary between them
Plate material is destroyed at which type of plate boundary?
Why are Earth's plate able to move?
the mantle below is made of soft, solid rock that moves by convection currents. The plates move in the direction the mantle is moving.
Rocks with a similar graining pattern about 2 billion years old were found next to rocks about 500 million years old with a similar pattern. Which continents did scientists find this rock pattern on?
South America and Africa
What do you call one of the very large sections of hard, solid rock that make up Earth’s outer layer?
plate
Dr. Raisa and her team of geologists have been studying GPS data that shows that two plates moved apart. Explain what happened between the two plates as they moved away from each other?
Soft, solid rock from underneath the plates rose and hardened, adding solid rock to the edges of both plates.
At what rate do plates move each year on average?
a few centimeters
Describe the pattern of diamonds that Wegener observed between South America and Africa.
the diamonds INCREASED in size from West to East
What is the name for a long, deep indentation in the ocean floor formed when two plates move together
trench
Where would you find volcanic activity?
near a convergent or divergent plate boundary
In the past, Africa used to be farther away from Europe than it is now. What could explain why Africa is closer to Europe now than it was before?
Africa and Europe are parts of different plates. The plates slowly moved toward each other as one plate went under the other plate into soft, solid rock over millions of years.
Fossils of the fern Glossopteris were found in all the southern continents. What does this show?
the continents were all once joined together
What is the name of the layer of soft, solid rock underneath Earth's plates?
mantle