Monday 11/13 Agenda materials Go to return bin Bellwork Continental drift Pencil Science binder

Continental drift 11/13

Warm-up Try to name all 7 continents North America South America Antarctica Europe Asia Africa Australia

Continents lab Look at the continent pieces in front of you and this map. What do you notice: What do the symbols stand for? Do any of the continents look like they fit together?

Fossil evidence: Mesosaurs Mesosaurs: reptile that lived 270 million years ago What do all animals like to do? Then why are they found on different continents that have an ocean between them?

Climate evidence Glossopteris: tropical plant Found in Antarctica, South America, Africa, Australia, and Greenland. Needs tropical climates. How did they get to an area covered in ice?

Geologic evidence Rock layers match in Brazil and Western Africa Rock layers in the Appalachian mountains match those found in Scotland Coal deposits in Antarctica SE Brazil and SW Africa rock layers are identical.

With all the evidence… what does it mean? Try to put together the puzzle now that you have all the evidence.

Alfred wegener Astronomer and meteorologist 1911 – came across fossil evidence in journals Compiled all this evidence and created his Theory of Continental Drift. All the continents were once merged together in the supercontinent Pangea Wasn’t accepted immediately because he couldn’t explain WHY the continents moved.

Pangea

Pangea Supercontinent that split apart 200 million years ago

What did we learn? Summary

Exit ticket: continental movement writing frame