Plate Techtonics Plate Techtonics

Unit 2 – Physical Connections Unit 2 – Physical Connections

Video introductionVideo introduction

• The Early Earth and Plate Tectonics: http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&resnum=0&q=plate%20tectonics&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

Continental Drift Continental Drift

• Think of a frozen lake– Thin layer of moving plates– Material that is constantly in motion

• Movement of these plates causes earthquakes

The supercontinent of PangaeaThe supercontinent of Pangaea

• In 1915, Alfred Wegener, a German scientist, stated that 300 million years ago all of earth’s land masses, which are constantly in motion collided to form one supercontinent. He called it Pangaea– Which continents used to fit together and

where?– What proof did Wegener have? P 91

Pangaea – 300 million years agoPangaea – 300 million years ago

http://www.alancolville.com/plates/pangaea.jpg

Plate tectonicsPlate tectonics

• 1968 J. Tuzo Wilson, a Canadian, helped spark interest in Plate Tectonics– New technology– 20 Plates made up of both ocean and

continent – They move over a weak layer of hot rock,

which flows like slow moving plastic– It is thought that an unequal distribution of

heat causes convection currents to move these plates.

Plate tectonics continuedPlate tectonics continued

• The movement of the plates shapes the world:– In Canada: The Rocky Mountains, the

Appalachian Mountains– The World: The Alps, The Andes

HomeworkHomework

• Page 89 Questions 1-4

• Page 94 Questions

Geologic TimeGeologic Time

• Cenozoic

• Mesozoic

• Paleozoic

• Precambrian

Cenozoic (recent life)Cenozoic (recent life)

• 66 million years to present– Ice sheets cover much of the earth– Continents take on their present shape– Formation of the Rocky Mountains

Biological Events – Human beings develop– Age of mammals– Modern forms of life evolve

Mesozoic (middle life)Mesozoic (middle life)

• 245 million to 66 million years– Shallow seas in the interior of North America

Biological Events– Age of reptiles, such as dinosaurs – First flowering plants– First birds and mammals

Paleozoic (ancient life) Paleozoic (ancient life)

• 570 – 245 million years – Appalachians formed– Periods when large parts of North America are

covered by shallow seas.

– Age of amphibians and fish– First insects– Large swamps-coal formed from this vegetation– First plants and animals appear on land

Precambrian (earliest Life)Precambrian (earliest Life)

• 4.6 Billion years ago – 570 million years– Rock shield formations: Canadian Shield,

Brazilian Shield, African Shield and the Australian Shield.

Biological Events– First single and multi-celled organisms

The TaskThe Task

• Create a graphical representation of the four eras showing information from the preceding slides and the Text book on pages 93 - 100