Continental Drift video that are scientifically Hypothesis - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

T h e c o l o r e d w Compare and Contrast o r d s a r e i m p o r t a n t . T h e y a r e t h e w o r d s y o u n e e d t o w r i t e • Watch the following video. o n y o u r n o t e s h e e t ! Write down the parts of the Continental Drift video that are scientifically Hypothesis accurate, and those that are scientifically inaccurate. Alfred Wegener’s Evidence Compare and Contrast • What parts of the video were scientifically accurate? Earth’s continents used to be There are layers within connected our planet Continents were separated by movement under the crust The inner core is a solid ball of iron and nickel

Compare and Contrast Plate Tectonics • What parts of the video were NOT Alfred Wegener: scientifically accurate? (1880-1930) The speed of the continental A squirrel-ancestor didn’t Famous for proposing break-up was exaggerated cause the break-up Continental Drift Theory , South America and Africa broke apart 225 million years and the Theory of Pangaea. ago. Giraffes have only been on Earth for about 6 million years. Continental Drift is not responsible for man-made statues Three Pieces of Evidence Three Pieces of Evidence 1. Geometric Fit of Continents 2. Fossil and Geologic Record 1. Geometric Fit of the 3. Ancient Climates Continents

Geometric Fit Geometric Fit Pangaea was not the first Pangaea was a supercontinent, and it will not be SUPER the last . CONTINENT on the Earth 225 million years ago. Pannotia—600 million years Rodinia—750 million years ago ago Geometric Fit Geometric Fit After about 25 Can you see the million years 7 continents we 4 & 5 Pangaea separated 1 have on Earth into TWO major today? continents: 3 2 Laurasia and Gondwanaland 7 6

Geometric Fit Geometric Fit Around the Wegener noticed that the coasts of same time the South America and Africa looked dinosaurs went like puzzle pieces. extinct (65 million years ago) the Earth’s continents were still moving! Three Pieces of Evidence Fossil Record • Wegener used fossils, land features, and climate to come up with the Theory of Continental Drift. 2. Fossil Record • One of the fossils he used as evidence was of the Mesosaurus reptile!

Fossil Record • Fossils of the Mesosaurus have been found in South America and in Africa. Fossil Record Other CRAZY fossils! • Lystrosaurus: Found in Antartica, Australia, Madagascar, and Africa

Other CRAZY Fossils! Cynognathus: Found in South America and Africa

Landform Evidence • Wegener also used landforms, like The pink areas ancient rivers, glacier carvings, show places with and mountain ranges that lined identical rock up on opposite continents! formations Kukenan Tepuy in Gran Sabana National Drakensburg Mountains, Park, Venezuela South Africa Norway Scotland

Three Pieces of Evidence Ancient Climates By studying the rock layers in various places, scientists can determine what 3. Ancient Climates the climate use to be like. Ancient Climates Ancient Climates Read “What is Paleoclimatology?” 1. Where has Earth kept a record of past climate conditions? Annotate your notes: + New Information Information I already knew Information I want to know more about Tree Rings Coral Reefs Glaciers Lake Sediment

Ancient Climates Ancient Climates 2. How has polar ice changed over the 3. What has last 2 million years? happened to temperatures The areas colored during the 20 th white were covered century? by an ice sheet between 70,000 and 20,000 years ago Ancient Climates Ancient Climates When glacial Another piece of striations are evidence for ancient mapped, it climates is Glacial shows an Striation ; scratches ancient glacier made in rock as a covered much of glacier moves down Pangaea the mountain

Putting all evidence together… See what your location looked like during Was the theory accepted? different time periods: http://scotese.com/earth.htm • No! Alfred Wegener’s theory was not well accepted at the time because there was NOT enough evidence . • Wegener could not explain the force that was causing the continents to move.

Let’s Summarize… ⦿ Wegener used 3 pieces of evidence to support his theory: ⦿ Geometric Fit of the Continents ⦿ Fossil and Rock Record ⦿ Ancient Climate Data ⦿ Other scientists did NOT accept the Theory of Continental Drift