Plate Tectonics Webquest
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Dec 6, 2023
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Plate Tectonics Webquest
Chapter 17
Instructor-D.Dickens
1.
What evidence did Alfred Wegener use to support his theory of continental drift?
a.
Wegener used fossil evidence to support his theory of continental drift. The
reasoning for this is that continents were fitting together in perfect alignment,
and the patterns of glaciers, mountains, and rock layers matched on opposite
sides of the oceans, and plant and animal fossils were similar on different
continents.
2.
Why do you think people didn’t believe the theory when Wegener first explained it?
a.
The main reason that people had a hard time believing his hypothesis was that he
made no evidence or mechanism on how the continents were moving.
3.
Who were the two scientists that brought forth supporting evidence to Wegener’s theory
and what was their evidence?
a.
The first one was Harry Hess who developed a theory of plate tectonics. The
second man was Arthur Holmes who came up with the theory that thermal
convection was the reason behind continents moving.
Use this Link to answer questions 1-3:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/do12we.html
Plate Tectonic Animation:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/anim1.html
4.
What are the three different types of plate boundaries? Describe each type.
a.
The first is Divergent boundaries which are where new crust is generated as the
plates pull away from each other. The second is convergent boundaries where the
crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. The third is transform
boundaries where the crust is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates slide
horizontally past each other.
5.
Name a place on Earth where two plates are converging.
Name a place where two plates
are diverging.
Name a place where two plates are sliding along each other.
Plate Tectonics Webquest
a.
For diverging, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which extends from the Artic Ocean to
beyond the southern tip of Africa. For converging, the coast of South American
along the Peru-Chile trench which created the Andes Mountains. For transform,
the San Andreas fault zone in California.
6.
What are the three different types of convergent plate boundaries?
a.
The three different types of convergent plate boundaries are oceanic-to-oceanic
convergence, oceanic-to-continental convergence, and continental-to-continental
convergence.
7.
Explain what plate tectonics and ocean trenches have in common.
a.
Ocean trenches and volcanoes both occur where continental plates come together,
Ocean trenches is also known for the presence of a volcanic arc.
Link for questions 4-7:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html
8.
When comparing the age of the rocks on the east coast of North America to the rocks
along the Mid Atlantic ridge, which do you think are older?
Why do you think this is the
case?
a.
The rocks on the East coast of North America are older than the Mid-Atlantic
because of the seafloor spreading. The rocks along the ridge are the newer ones
being formed while the ones off the East coast of North America were formed a long
time ago.
Link for question 8:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/glossary/s_u/sea_flr_spread.html
9.
What is a convection current or cell?
Describe how it works.
a.
A convection current or cell is a rock beneath rigid plates that are believed to be
moving in a circular manner. The heat rises to the surface, spreads thin which
allows it to cool, and then returns to the bottom of the pot. This cycle is repeated and
continues to happen.
10.What are the two main sources of heat inside the Earth?
a.
The two main sources of heat inside the Earth are residual heat and radioactive
decay.
Link for questions 9-10:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/unanswered.html
Plate Tectonics Webquest
11.
What type of tectonic forces creates mountains?
a
. Converging plates are the type of tectonic forces that create mountains. As the plates
push together, the stress forces them both upwards.
12. How were the Rocky Mountains formed?
a.
The Rocky Mountains were formed from the transformation of previously existing
rocks under conditions of high pressure and temperature. The North American plate
collided with the pacific plate which created these mountains.
Answer 11-12 on your own. Support your answer using information you have learned in
this web Quest.
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