Assignment 4

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School

Capella University *

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112

Subject

Geology

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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doc

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Uploaded by MajorGuanacoPerson438

Plate Tectonics 1 Running Head: PLATE TECTONICS The Plate Tectonics Theory The Plate Tectonics Theory The plate tectonics theory contributed and did for geology as did Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The plate tectonics theory explains how “the outer rigid layer of the earth (the lithosphere) is divided into a couple of dozen ‘plates’ that move around across the earth's surface

Plate Tectonics 2 relative to each other” (Fichter & Baedke, 2000). This theory explains how land activities such as earthquakes happen, and land forms such as mountains and volcanoes are formed. This compares to the theory of evolution because by explaining the growth of the world. The theory of evolution discusses on the changes that have happened throughout millions of years in living things such as plants and animals. The theory of plate tectonics, on the other hand, discusses on the changes that have happened in the world. This is the evolution of the “non- living” aspect. The plate tectonics theory builds on the theory of continental drift theory which explains the breaking up of the supercontinent Pangaea. The evolution of the earth explains how the seven continents man lives on today came to be. This was proven in 1912 by Alfred Lothar Wegener, a German meteorologist, who noticed the “remarkable fit of the South American and African continents…[and] the occurrences of unusual geologic structures and of plant and animal fossils found on [its] matching coastlines” (Watson, 2009). These continents are now separated by the Atlantic Ocean, but very similarities continue to be found. The plate tectonics theory is one of the—if not the most important—aspects of the earth sciences. It explains the evolution of the world and its surroundings. It is important to know the surroundings in which early creatures lived on to be able to understand their way of life then and the evolutions they underwent. It is in these surroundings also that may discoveries about the past were revealed, which contributes greatly to the knowledge at hand in the present time. References Fichter, L.S. & Baedke, S.J. (2000). Synopsis of the plate tectonic theory . Retrieved 06 November 2009 from http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/vageol/vahist/plates.html

Plate Tectonics 3 W atson, J.M. (2009). Historical perspective . Retrieved 06 November 2009 from http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/historical.html

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