2. The Moving Continents An Introduction to Plate Tectonics

3. The Theory of Plate Tectonics l Suggests that the crust is broken into sections called plates l Plates move about the earth l Boundaries of plates are considered faults

5. Alfred Wegener l First person to suggest the Theory of Continental Drift in 1910 l His hypothesis was that all the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart. l Science community rejected his theory because of lack of support l Published a book giving support for his theory in 1915

7. Evidence for Continental Drift: l Same type of fossils found on four different continents l Folded mountains on Africa and South America l Glacial deposits on different continents that should not have l Coal beds in areas that normally would not form, Michigan for example

8. Why do the plates move? l Convection in the mantle –The heating and cooling of the fluid, –changes in the fluid’s density, and –the force of gravity combine to set convection currents in motion

10. Words to define l Faults l Mantle l Convection l Core l Crust l Molten l Folded mountains l Hot spots l Earthquakes l Volcanoes

12. Technology and the Earth’s Changing Surface l Surface mining l Urban development l Farming l Dams l Landfills l Restoring marshlands l Reclaiming spoiled lands

13. Geological Time l Sedimentary Rocks and Fossils are used to determine the age and geological history of the earth l Rock layers fossils l Relative dating l Petoskey stones

14. Evolution l Geological time l Fossil l Bone l Embryo l limb