Plate Tectonics
Fossils
Earth Layers
Continental Drift
Previous Learning
100
What would result from the transform tectonic plate boundary shown below?
Earthquake
100
A fossil that is widespread, lived over a relatively short period of time, and can be used to correlate rock strata is called what?
Index Fossil
100
What is the top layer of Earth's surface called?
Crust
100
Who discussed continental drift but was criticized by scientists for not having enough evidence?
Alfred Wegener
100
What is the law of superposition?
The idea that the oldest layers are on the bottom and the youngest layers are on the top.
200
What would result from the convergent tectonic plate boundary shown below?
Mountain Formations
200
Fossils show what type of evidence?
Life from millions of years ago
200
What is the lithosphere made up of?
Earth's crust and the uppermost part of the mantle.
200
Before rocks and fossil evidence, what did scientists notice that made them believe the continents were all connected at one point?
The shapes of the continents allowed them to fit together
200
How old is the Earth?
Between 4 and 4.6 billion years old
300
What would result from the divergent tectonic plate boundary shown below?
Seafloor spreading
300
What fossils show evidence that Africa and South America were once connected?
Glossopteris, Cynognathus, and Mesosaurus
300
What does C show in the image?
Asthenosphere
300
What is one example of evidence supporting continental drift?
Fossil evidence, rock evidence, shapes of the continents
300
What are sediments?
Tiny bits of rock
400
What would result from the tectonic plate boundary shown below?
A volcano
400
What is the definition of a fossil record?
The mineralized remains of organisms and the rock layers in which they are found. It shows when and where these long dead organisms lived and how their bodies were structured.
400
What does B show in the image?
Mantle
400
What fossil evidence has led geologists to believe that some plates have traveled great distances?
Fossils of organisms that lived in warm climates have been found in arctic environments
400
What era do we live in?
Cenozoic Era
500
Why do tectonic plates move?
They are floating on Earth's soft, underlying asthenosphere
500
What do the rock layers tell us about the CLIMATE when each rock layer was formed? (HINT: not looking for which fossil is older, discuss what the environment was like)
Clams: The area was likely under water because clams live under water.
Trees: The environment would have had enough moisture for trees to grow, but likely was not completely underground unless it is those trees down in areas like Florida that grow in the water.
500
What is A showing in the image?
Lithosphere
500
What is the definition of continental drift?
The movement of tectonic plates over long periods of time.
500
What era had the largest mass extinction?
Mesozoic Era