Thursday, October 13, 2011

Yesterday we started looking at evidence that the continents were once connected into one giant landmass. To do this we plotted fossils found on various continents, including Antartica. Today we discussed how this could have happened IF the continents were never joined. There were some creative responses- inlcluding plants that could swim and the popular alien idea.

Through this activity we were able to understand that the only possible explanation is that the continents were once one landmass. We still don't have the why/how they separated. That will come Monday!

Finish up your supercontinent and questions for homework.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Looking at earthquakes

Up to this point, we have focused on what earthquakes are, how we detect them and how they are measured. Now we are going to start trying to answer that nagging question that everyone keeps asking - Why do they happen?

To answer this question we need to understand where they occur. In class today we discovered that there are patterns in their locations, but not always. We also highlighted the 3 major belts for seismic activity: Ring of Fire, Mid- Atlantic Ridge, and the Mediterranean-Himalyan Belt.

Tomorrow, we are going to work on how the plate tectonic theory all came about.

HOMEWORK! Complete the questions using your plate boundary map