1. Plate Tectonics

2. Title: Plate Tectonics
Key Words: Pangaea, Plates, Continental Drift
Objective:
To describe what planet earth used to look like and explain why planet earth became the shape it is today.

3. Planet Earth as we know it.
Earth hasn’t always looked like this and in millions of years it won’t look like this!

5. Over 250 million years ago the continents of planet earth formed one large landmass called Pangaea.
Over the next 250 million years the landmass split up to form the seven continents.

6. What are the Seven Continents?
Europe
Asia
North America
Africa
Antarctica
Australasia/Oceania
South America

7. The answer is called Plate Tectonics.
So what caused the planet to change the shape of it’s landmass and what will cause the planet to change shape again?
The answer is called Plate Tectonics.
Pangaea Animation
Future World Animation

8. The earth has changed shape because the landmasses are located on things called plates.

9. These plates are constantly moving on the semi-liquid mantle that exists below the crust. The process by which they move is called continental drift.

10. Plate Tectonics Definition:
Plate Tectonics is the process by which the earth’s plates have moved over millions of years.
The earths crust has cracked up in to seven large tectonic plates.
These plates float on the semi-liquid mantle and are constantly moving around through a process called continental drift.

11. Task 2 – Pangaea to Planet Earth:
Look at task 2 on your sheet and using the key words and phrases below, you are going to write a descriptive paragraph to describe how planet earth went from Pangaea to its current shape.
225 million years ago
Cracked Up
Landmass
Crust
Continents
Continental Drift
Semi-liquid Mantle
Seven Large Plates
Pangaea
Plate Tectonics
North America
South America
Europe
Antarctica
Asia
Australasia
Africa

12. Homework for Next Lesson:
Complete the tectonic plates jigsaw showing where the plate boundaries are found.
TIP - Use an atlas to help you