Study Guide; Terms & Comprehension for Activites 39-41

There are seven continents and there were seven puzzle pieces. But not every puzzle piece represented a continent. Why do you think this is?

"Eurasia", India wasn't a continent, Greenland was part of Pangea

What is the rate of continent movement per year?

1 -3 cm per year

Why was Theory of continental drift not widely accepted?

At the time, there wasn't as much technology as there is now that can record data of all sorts; satellite images, certain apparatuses, etc.

Some nuclear waste may be radioactive for 250,000 years. Would you consider this to be a long or short period in geological time? Explain your reasoning.

Compared to how long each geological time period was in the Earth's history, this is a relatively short period of time. Each period lasted for millions of years, while N. waste lasts for only about 250,000 y.

What types of evidence do we now have to support the Theory of Continental drift?

Ex: satellite images, continents' shapes fit together, fossils/plant fossils from two different parts of world, rock layers from different continent are very similar, grooves from a glacier are identical, worm fossils are the same

Describe what has happened to the land on the surface of the earth over the past 425 million years.

Land masses on the earth's surface have moved and changed shape over time. About 425 mya, the continents combined were known as Gondwanaland. Between 425-230 mya, Pangea formed. Since then, Pangea has broken apart to form the arrangement of the continents seen on the earth today. India was the land mass that isn't a continent

How did placing Earth's "events" in order help you to understand the earth's history? Hint: Think about how your understanding of events in geological time has changed.

Realizing that in the beginning, there was barely any life on Earth is a good place to begin your understanding. As each time period progresses, you see that more advanced life forms begin to take place. And so, we see the evolution lead to today's species.

What types of evidence did the puzzle provide about change on the earth's surface?

The puzzle provided evidence related to fossil distribution, mountain ranges with similar rock layers, and the shape and position of the continent.

What is the theory of continental drift?

The theory continental drift describes how plate tectonics explains the formation, movement, and subduction of Earth's plates. At one point, all the continents were one land mass (Pangea).

What did Alfred Wegner come up with?

Theory of continental drift

reptile

a cold-blooded, air-breathing vertebrate with scales that typically lays eggs

continent

a major continuous landmass such as; Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

What is Gondwanaland?

a massive southern continent that contained Africa, India, Australia, Antarctica and South America

paleontologist

a scientist who uses fossil evidence to study life in prehistoric times

Pangea

a single landmass, or supercontinent, that existed from about 350 million to 200 million years ago and was separated by plate tectonics, forming the current continents

mesosaurus

an extinct freshwater reptile about 0.5 meters (2 feet) in length

lystrosaurus

an extinct land reptile about 1 meter (3 feet) long

cynognathus

an extinct land reptile about the size of a wolf

glossopteris

an extinct, fern-like plant that could grow to 3.7 meters (12 ft) in height

What parts are the lithosphere made up of?

crust and upper mantle

geological time

periods of thousands, millions, and billions of years referred to by geologists, paleontologists, and other scientists who study the earth's history.