Continental Drift
This is the name of the super-continent of which all current continents were once a part.
Pangea
Name the three types of plate boundaries.
Convergent, divergent, transform
At what type of plate boundary is new crust formed, and how is it formed?
Divergent boundaries, magma rises from the mantle as convection currents push the plates apart, cooling on the ocean floor and solidifying into new crust.
This is the outermost layer of the Earth.
Name the two solid layers of the Earth.
The crust and the inner core.
What causes the formation of convection currents?
The heating of the mantle by the Earth's inner layers
What sort of characteristics might one expect to find at a plate boundary?
Earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, new crust
Why are deeper earthquakes able to occur at some plate boundaries but not others?
Convergent boundaries allow for pressure to build up far deeper in the plate's crust than do other boundary types.
This is the layer of the Earth where convection currents happen.
The mantle
What is the most dense known object in the universe?
A black hole
Name two pieces of evidence that support the theory of continental drift.
Fit of the continents, fossil record
What specific characteristics would you expect to find at divergent plate boundaries?
New crust, mid-ocean ridge, and weak/shallow earthquakes
Describe the characteristics you would expect to see at a transform boundary. Why do these characteristics occur?
Frequent, less powerful earthquakes, no volcanic activity, no creation of mountain ranges, no new crust formation.
There isn't enough pressure buildup between plates for strong earthquakes, nothing forcing crust up or down, and no way for magma to easily escape to the surface.
The inner most layer of the Earth.
The core
At a convergent plate boundary, what determines which plate will be the overriding plate and which plate will be the subjecting plate?
The densities of the plates.
What is the mechanism that drives continental drift?
Convection currents
Draw images of all three plate boundary types and draw arrows that show the motion of each plate at the boundaries.
.
How do plate tectonics follow the law of conservation of mass?
Old crust is recycled at convergent plate boundaries while new crust is formed at divergent plate boundaries.
How does temperature change as you go from the Earth's innermost layers to outermost layers?
It decreases
Where did all of the heavier elements on Earth originate?
Super Novae
Why does the fossil record support continental drift?
There would have been no way for any of these organisms to cross the oceans, and the current climate on the different continents would not have been able to support similar organisms. The only way fossils of the same organisms could have been found in all of these locations is if they were once connected and in areas that would allow for similar climates.
A convergent boundary
Draw a convection current showing how the current will move the crust, and what types of plate boundaries the current will create.
.
What is the difference between oceanic crust and continental crust?
What does the fact that the further away crust is from a mid ocean ridge, the older the crust is show us?
Crust is being formed at mid ocean ridges and moving away from the ridges where it was created.