Plate Tectonics Note.pdf

Plate Tectonics Note 200 million years ago all the continents combined together to form a supercontinent called _______________________ Continental Drift ●It is the theory that the earth’s continents are constantly in ________________ and at one time they all collided together to form one __________...

Plate Tectonics Note 200 million years ago all the continents combined together to form a supercontinent called _______________________ Continental Drift ●It is the theory that the earth’s continents are constantly in ________________ and at one time they all collided together to form one ________________ continent about ______________ years ago! ●Pangaea (___________________________________) began to break up and drift apart. ● ____________________ came up with the idea in the early ________________. ● He believed that the world shared certain characteristics that proved that at one time the continents were all ___________________________. ● He had _______ pieces of proof. Proof 1: Visually, he saw that the continents of Africa and South America would ________ together like a jigsaw __________________. Proof 2: There were fossils of plants and _________________ on more than one continent. Proof 3: There are __________________ ranges and structures on different continents that could be ___________ up if they were one large continent. For example: ________________________ and Caledonian Mountains Proof 4: There is proof that _________sheets had once covered the southern portions of South America, Australia, India and Africa – how could this happen in places that are so warm today? Glaciers could have only formed if the continents were close to the south pole. However, the theory was ___________________because scientists wanted evidence to explain ______________ the continents could drift across the earth’s surface. •Theory of ____________________offered a more scientifically sound explanation for the movement of continents. •Plate Tectonics is the movement of the earth’s surface (crust) which is divided into _____major plates. Within each major plate, there are numerous sub-plates as well. •Large ______________________ in the _______________cause plates to _____________. •The mantle lies under the crust. •Earth radiates huge amounts of energy from the radioactive decay of elements in the core. This energy makes its way outwards through the mantle toward the crust •This heat gives the mantle _____________ characteristics, which means that it is very slowly moving with giant convection cells that carry the heat to the Earth’s surface. • Plate ________________ occur when 2 or more plates ____________ each other. There are ________types of plate boundaries. 1) 2) 3) 4) Divergent Movement What is formed Example Convergent Subduction Transform