Transcript Inside Earth: Chapter 1

Warm Up
In complete sentences answer:
How could an animal that couldn’t fly
or swim cross the ocean?
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Your Goals for Today
We will be able to explain:
• What continental drift is.
• Why Alfred Wegener’s theory of
continental drift was rejected.
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
The Theory of Continental Drift
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Pangaea
• The single landmass that broke apart
200 million years ago and gave the
rise to today’s continents
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Continental Drift
• A hypothesis that the continents
slowly move across Earth’s surface
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Did you know?
2 Observations scientists made:
• A mountain range in South Africa lines up
identical with mountain ranges in Argentina
(South America)
• Brazilian coal fields match up identical with
coal fields in South Africa
• WHAT COULD YOU INFER FROM THIS?
• “The evidence ____________ suggests _________
because _______”
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
More Observing: Don’t some of
the coastlines seem to match up
like jig-saw puzzle?
“The evidence above suggests _________ because _______”
• The continents of Africa
and South America best
match up like jigsaw-puzzle
pieces
• This suggests that these
continents were once
joined as a single continent,
which Wegener called
Pangaea.
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Inferring: According to Wegener’s
theory, what does the presence of
similar mountain ranges in Africa
and South America indicate?
The similar mountain ranges in Africa and SA
suggest that _______.
• The presence of
similar mountain
ranges indicates
that Africa and
South America
were once joined.
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Evidence From Fossils
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Fossil
• Fossil: A trace of an organism that
has been preserved in rock
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Glossopteris fossils have been found in rocks
in Africa, South America, Australia, India,
and Antarctica unexpectedly
HOW MIGHT THIS SUPPORT WEGENER’S
THEORY?
Answer: Seeds could not
have travel that far
over the oceans to
reach other continents
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Evidence From Climate
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Some more evidence: Climate
discoveries Wegener cited:
1.The Island of Spitsbergen
(Artic Ocean) has evidence
of tropical plants
2.Deep scratches in rocks
were found in South Africa
• These scratches
support evidence of
glaciers
The island of Spitsbergen
today (not so tropical…)
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Checkpoint: What were the
three types of evidence
Wegner used to support his
theory of continental drift?
• Landforms
• Fossils
• Climate
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Scientists Reject
Wegener’s
Theory
List 5 reasons
why you might
still reject
Wegener’s
Theory
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Why was Alfred Wegener’s
theory rejected?
• Wegener could not provide a
satisfactory explanation for the
force that pushes or pulls the
continents
• He could not identify the
cause of continental drift
• Geologists needed more
evidence of how the
continents and mountains
were formed
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Make a Study Guide
Landforms
Fossils
Climate
1.
1.
1.
2.
2.
2.
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.
Exit Tickets!
Answer in complete sentences:
1. What was Pangaea?
2. Give 2-3 reasons that Wegener used to justify
his theory of plate tectonics.
3. Give 2 reasons why Wegener’s theory was
still rejected, despite his evidence.
Objective: SWBAT explain what continental drift is, what Alfred
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was, and why it was rejected
rejected.