September 2, Aims: Agenda. SWBAT explain Alfred Wegener s hypothesis of Continental Drift.

Transcription

1 September 2, 2016 Aims: SWBAT explain Alfred Wegener s hypothesis of Continental Drift. Agenda 1. Do Now 2. Class Notes 3. Guided Practice 4. Independent Practice 5. Practicing our AIMS: Homework: EI.6 Continental Drift How will you help our class earn all of our S.T.R.I.V.E. Points? 1

2 Aim Check: What is Continental Drift? What did Wegener use as evidence to support his hypothesis? Why was his hypothesis unable to grow up into a theory? 2

3 SCIENCE 8 Continental Drift EI.6 Name: Date: Homeroom: Earth s Interior OBJECTIVES: By the end of class, students will be able to SWBAT explain Alfred Wegener s hypothesis of Continental Drift. DO NOW Direction: Read and ANNOTATE the information before you answer the questions. Today s packet begins in the 15 th and 16 th centuries, as explorers traveled and maps became more and more accurate. Looking at these maps, people stared to notice similarities in the edges of the continents. Although separated by thousands of miles, it seemed as though the continents could fit together. Francis Bacon (yes, that s his real name) suggested that there must be some reason for this. At the time and for several centuries later, the similarities in continents borders were explained as the result of a sudden change. Three of the most popular theories were: The mapmaker Abraham Ortelius suggested that maybe the Americas were torn away from Europe and Africa by earthquakes and floods. Friedrich Humboldt argued that a giant current of ocean water had eroded a landmass that once connected Europe with America. Edward Suess noted flows of lava from volcanoes and suggested that the Earth is still cooling from a molten state. He suggested that a cooling Earth would grow smaller and smaller, like the skin of a shrinking apple. Which theory do you think is the best answer to Why do the continents look like they fit together? Use ICE to support your conclusion. Start with the phrase I agree with because 3 Claim (1/2 pt.) Ev idence (1 pt.) Error Free (1/2 pt.) Correct conclusion Relev ant Ev idence Complete Sentence Punctuation Capitalization Clarity

4 CONTINENTAL DRIFT CLASS NOTES In 1910, a young German scientist named Alfred Wegener (VAY guh nur) became curious about the relationship of the continents. CONTINENTAL DRIFT: Wegener s hypothesis: PANGAEA: According to Wegener, Pangaea existed about Over tens of millions of years, The pieces of Pangaea slowly moved toward their present - day locations. These pieces became the continents as they are today. 4

5 SCIENTISTS <3 ICE Wegener gathered evidence from different scientific fields to support his ideas about continental drift. He studied In 1915, Wegener published his evidence for continental drift in a book called The Origin of Cont inents and Oceans. THE EVIDENCE 1. Mountains and other features on the continents fit together like the pieces to a puzzle. Africa and South America: Europe and North America: 2. Wegener also used fossils to support his argument for continental drift. Glossopt eris fossils: found in rocks in Mesosaurus and Lyst rosaurus: found in places 5

6 3. Wegener used evidence of climate change to support his hypothesis. Fossils of tropical plants are found on Spitsbergen, Deep scratches and weathering in rocks showed that REJECTED! Continental Drift stays a hypothesis: Since Wegener could not identify the cause of continental drift, most geologists rejected his idea. Even though Wegener s idea could not be accepted yet, his evidence caused him to develop a new idea for how mountain ranges might be formed: He proposed 6

7 GUIDED PRACTICE Read and ANNOTATE each question before you solve the problem. Directions: Support your selection by finding evidence to support your answer OR evidence to support why another is incorrect. Start your explanation with The evidence shows that Question 1. How does continental drift affect a continent s climate? Supporting evidence A. As a continent moves toward the poles, its climate gets warmer. B. As a continent moves between the equator and the poles, its climate stays the same. C. As a continent moves toward the equator, its climate becomes drier. D. As a continent moves toward the equator, its climate becomes warmer. 2. According to Wegener, mountains form A. when continents collide and their edges crumple and fold. B. because the Earth is slowly cooling and shrinking. C. when the continental glaciers carve deep scratches in the rocks. D. when water erodes the surface of the Earth over millions of years. 3. Alfred Wegener theorized that South Africa must have been, at one time, much closer to the South Pole. He based his theory on A. the deep scratches in South African rocks, indicating glaciers were once there. B. the discovery of Glossopteris fossils only in South African caves. C. the presence of coal beds. D. mountain ranges in Africa. 7

8 INDEPENDENT PRACTICE Directions: For each key term, explain the big idea to a kindergartener. Then, draw a picture to illustrate the word. Term Concept Picture Pangaea Land Features Fossils Climate Change 8

9 Directions: Read and ANNOTATE each question before you solve the problem. What was Wegener s hypothesis of continental drift? Why did most scientists reject Wegener s theory for nearly a half century? 9

10 Complete the graphic organizer 10

11 11

12 BEAST MODE! Read and ANNOTATE the given information before you solve the problem. 1. Describe the kind of environment in which Mesosaurus lived. 2. Is it likely that Mesosaurus swam back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean? Use ICE to support your reasoning. 3. What could explain the distribution of Mesosaurus fossils? Use ICE to support your reasoning. 4. Does the case of Mesosaurus support Wegener s theory of continental drift? Use ICE to support your reasoning. 5. Does the case by itself prove the theory? Use ICE to support your reasoning. 12

13 Science 8 Name: SKILL SNAPSHOT Date: EI.6: Continental Drift Homeroom: Quick Notes: Read and ANNOTATE each question before you solve the problem. Like A Scholar? Yes No Redo? Yes No Directions: Support your selection by finding evidence to support your answer OR evidence to support why another is incorrect. Start your explanation with The evidence shows that Question 1. Scientists have hypothesized for years that Earth s continents once formed a single landmass that broke apart and became the continents as we know them today. Supporting evidence What evidence best supports this idea? A. Igneous rocks have been found on all the continents. B. Similar fossils have been found in parts of Africa and South America. C. Australia has marsupial species that are not found on other continents. D. Indications of sea level changes have been recorded on all the continents. 2. A cross-section shows a series of rock layers that have been found in all of these landmasses: South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica. Analysis of the similarities in these layers leads to the conclusion that A. continental plates float on top of a molten mantle. B. in undisturbed rock sequences, the oldest fossils will be on the bottom. C. these five landmasses were once joined together in a single landmass. D. magnet anomalies are preserved in rocks formed at mid-oceanic spreading centers. 13

14 3. Select the three pieces of evidence Wegener used to support his hypothesis. A. fossils B. land features C. Pangaea D. climate change 4. Why was Wegener s hypothesis rejected? A. He did not support it with evidence. B. He could not explain how the continents drifted. C. He did not share his thoughts with his peers. D. It took him too long to develop the hypothesis. 5. Deposits of coal have been found beneath the ice of Antarctica. But coal only forms in warm swamps. Use Wegener s evidence to explain how coal could be found so near to the South Pole. Use ICE to support your conclusion. Start with the phrase The evidence shows that 14 Claim (1/2 pt.) Ev idence (1 pt.) Error Free (1/2 pt.) Correct conclusion Relev ant Ev idence Complete Sentence Punctuation Capitalization Clarity