Plate tectonics should be required reading for all people because we live on a very dynamic planet. The continental drift hypothesiscontinents have moved slowly to their current locations 1. Continental drift is now explained as a consequence of moving plates. A combination of the seafloor spreading theory and the continental drift theory. Continental drift and plate tectonics f you look closely at a world map, you might notice something about the coastlines of south america and africa. Try to work out which of these pieces of evidence wegener might have used in the. The lithosphere is divided into moving segments that change. Pdf a historical account of how continental drift and. Pdf on jan 1, 2012, karoly nemeth and others published w. Plate tectonics is the theory that explains the structure, composition and internal workings of the earth on a worldwide scale, while continental drift refers to the theory that the continents all used to be connected in one megacontinent which scientists dub pangaea. All the three theories are covered regarding mystery behind the origin of oceans and continents. Oct 31, 2008 continental drift and plate tectonics slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. All continents were once connected as one large landmass now called pangaea.
Continental drift the emergence and evolution of plate. Choose from 500 different sets of continental drift theory plate tectonics flashcards on quizlet. Describe the type of plate boundary that forms mountains and islands. Tectonic plate lithospheric plate is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of continental and oceanic lithosphere.
Continental drift theory alfred wegener proposed that parts of earths crust slowly drift atop a. Testing for plate can measure mgvements as little as i cm per year. Plate tectonics and continental drift infographic live. The san andreas fault map 1 shows the pacific coastline of the united states. Students explore the basics of wegeners theory of continental drift. Third, and most fundamental, physicists discovered radiogenic heat, which contradicted the basic assumption of contraction theory that the earth was steadily cooling. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur along plate boundaries 3. The difference between continental drift and plate tectonic. Continental drift plate tectonics underlined words and phrases are to be filled in by students on the notetaking worksheet.
The continental drift hypothesiscontinents have moved slowly to. Pdf a historical account of how continental drift and plate tectonics. Explain the process that causes the earths tectonic plates to move. Stresses relax in the lower portion of the plate where creep processes dominate, but still behaves coherently with the plate. The continents are embedded within the lithospheric plates that comprises the upper 80100 km of the earth, and are carried along with the plates as they migrate at average rates of 310 centimeters per year. Continental drift and plate tectonics are two theories explaining the geological evolution of the earth, specifically its crust. Does the entire lithospheric plate transmit stress in the same way. Pdf what is the nature of the force or mechanism that moves massive continents thousands of miles across. The concept was independently developed by german geologist alfred wegener in 1912. Dec 21, 2016 continental drift is an archaic and misleading term that is no longer in use. According to the theory of continental drift, the world was made up of a single continent through most of geologic time. It starts with mention of edward suess contraction theory in the later 1880s and continues on to include the creation and rejection of alfred wegeners theory of continental drift. Mar 01, 2017 all the three theories are covered regarding mystery behind the origin of oceans and continents.
Continental drift and plate tectonic exploration through discovery education revision date. In an ironical twist, continental drift now generalized to plate tectonics is almost universally accepted, but we. He noted that glacial, tropical rain forests, and desert deposits were aligned when the continents were placed together plate tectonics. Choose from 500 different sets of plate tectonics continental drift questions flashcards on quizlet. Perfect for whole group lessons, interactive science notebooks, or student note taking guides. We now know that, directly or indirectly, plate tectonics influences nearly all geologic processes, past and present. Jun 20, 20 continental drift and plate tectonics are two theories explaining the geological evolution of the earth, specifically its crust. Since the theory of plate tectonics was first introduced, how far has the tectonic plate were standing on moved. Plates move horizontally over the aesthenosphere as rigid units. Plate tectonics continental drift and mountain building pdf. Continental drift and plate tectonics kaiserscience.
Continental drift, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics plate tectonics is a theory developed in the late 1960s, to explain how the outer layers of the earth move and deform. Continental drift and plate tectonics slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Continental drift continental drift hypothesis that continents were once a supercontinent and in different locations evidence. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earths lithosphere is broken into distinct plates which are. Plate tectonics is the theory that the crust of the earth is broken into a number of plates which move, relative to each other, because of forces acting in the earth at deeper levels. You should also be able to identify several pieces of evidence that support the theory of plate tectonics and continental drift. Subduction zones are where mountainbuilding orogeny occurs 6. Wegeners theory was rejected by scientists because he could.
Plate tectonics it was from the continental drift theory, convection current theory and the theory of seafloor spreading, the theory of plate tectonics was formulated. Is plate tectonics and continental drift the same thing. Plate tectonicscontinental drift and mountain building find, read and cite all the research you. The hypothesis asserts that the continents consist of. Continental drift is a fundamental natural cause of global change. Continental drift, paleomagnetism, and plate tectonics. Continental drift and plate tectonics free download as powerpoint presentation. It accounts for all of the major features of the ocean basin and the surface of the earth in general.
Activity 1 resource l1 example of resource for activity 2 l2 continental drift worksheet. What are characteristics of continental drift theory. Jun 24, 2009 6 continental drift and plate tectonics wdisovery education note. Refer to the map 2 tectonic map to determine the relative motion of the land on either side of the san andreas. Continental drift is a theory first presented by abraham ortelius abraham ortels in 1596. Tuzo wilson offered a fundamental reinterpretation of wegeners continental drift theory and became the first person to use the term plates to describe the division and pattern of relative movement between different regions of the earths surface i. One piece of evidence wegener provided was paleoclimatic indicators that linked south america and africa plate tectonics. Continental drift is an archaic and misleading term that is no longer in use. Plate tectonics, and continental drift proprofs quiz. Continental drift and plate tectonics plate tectonics.
Small pieces of crust terranes are important in building up. The theory has caused a revolution in the way we think about the earth. Sep 30, 2017 students explore the basics of wegeners theory of continental drift. He also proposed a tectonic cycle the wilson cycle. Pdf alfred wegenerfrom continental drift to plate tectonics. Wegeners theory was rejected by scientists because he could not explain what force pushes or pulls continents. The stress required for crustal shortening to build.
In 1967, mckenzie and parker suggested the theory of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is used as a means to explain the older idea of continental drift because it requires that the continents move relative to each other. Concerning the theory of plate tectonics, i am more knowledgeable than the average person on the street, but i am greatly humbled by the vast expanse of what plate tectonics involves and the depth of knowledge that geologist have attained. The term continental drift was coined to support the idea that the continents were floating around on a sea of magma, drifting about and crashing into each other.
The continental drift hypothesiscontinents have moved slowly to notetaking worksheet. Lesson plan and worksheets in ms word andor pdf format can be downloaded below. New ocean crust is created along midocean ridges 4. The theory is based on the concept proposed by the continental drift model and was. The major geological processesearthquakes, volcanoes, mountainbuildingare caused by plate motions and interactions. Frank taylor first proposed this idea in 1910, alexander du toit later in 1937, harry hess explored the geomorphology of the seafloor by ship in 1960s. The thick arrows show the actual directions of plate movement. Plate tectonics theory the upper most mantle, along with overlying crust, behaves as a strong, rigid layer.
Professor vorwald plate tectonics and continental drift lab page 2 of 15 part b. What is the difference between continental drift and plate. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. At plate boundaries, the cold and more dense rock sinks and melts, becoming magma. Is the idea that the continents are slowly drifting further away from each other. Plate tectonics identified that earths crust is broken into a number of large plates, more smaller plates, and many, many plates that sometimes might not even be more than a few thousand square miles or less in area. This is a list of the evidence that is used in support of plate tectonic theory today. Learn plate tectonics continental drift questions with free interactive flashcards. Contractional theory, continental drift and plate tectonics springerlink. Who proposed the theory and what evidence did he provide to prove his theory. Since the development of the theory, geologists have had to reexamine almost every aspect of. Then new evidence about earths structure led scientists to reconsider wegeners. Wegeners continental drift meets wilsons plate tectonics. Although nearly all geologically recent and many ancient mountain ranges are at obvious plate boundaries, all continental crust was at some time.
Continental drift theory plate tectonics sea floor. By 1968, the concepts of continental drift and seafloor spreading were united to form the theory of plate tectonics. Earths crust and upper mantle are broken into sections. For nearly half a century, from the 1920s to the 1960s, most scientists paid little attention to the idea of continental drift. It provides a brief overview of the major historical contributions to the theory of plate tectonics. The difference between continental drift and plate. Plate tectonics has proven to be so useful that it can predict geologic events and explain almost all aspects of what we see on the earth. Content outline continental drift section 1 plate tectonics underlined words and phrases are to be filled in by students on the a. The plate tectonics theory refers to the largescale movement of the seven major plates along with several other smaller plates that form the earths lithosphere, for the last hundreds of millions of years.
Continental drift and plate tectonics university of iceland. By the end of the pdf, you should be able to describe the theory of continental drift, and explain how it is similar and different from the theory of plate tectonics. From continental drift to plate tectonics 7 and therefore they could not sink to become ocean basins. Mar 17, 2016 plate tectonics and continental drift infographic.
Continental drift and plate tectonics visavis earths expansion. Hypotheses like continental drift, plate tectonics or earths expansion should not be considered as viable in view of solid and rigid state of mantle. Plate tectonics tectonic plate lithospheric plate is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of continental and oceanic lithosphere. The theory of plate tectonics offers a mechanism, acceptable to the physics community, that can account for the continental motions described by wegener, dutoit, and the paleomagnetists. Earth is thought to be the force behind plate tectonics. That continent eventually separated and drifted apart, forming into the seven continents we have today. These processes control the largescale physiography of the globe, and with it, the distribution of habitat. The sections, called plates, move on a plasticlike layer of the mantle. Colour online number of publications in english per year between 1950 and 2017 on a palaeogeography, b continental drift and c plate tectonics. Continental drift, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics.
Learn continental drift theory plate tectonics with free interactive flashcards. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Difference between continental drift and plate tectonics. Alfred wegener and continental drift it was not until 1912 that the idea of moving continents was seriously considered as a fullblown scientific theory called continental drift introduced in two articles published by a 32yearold german meteorologist named alfred lothar wegener alfred lothar wegener 18801930 earned a. The first comprehensive theory of continental drift was suggested by the german meteorologist alfred wegener in 1912. Video showing how convection cells inside the earth move tectonic plates on the earths surface. Wegener 18801930 continental drift was wegeners theory that all continents had once been joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart since. Plate tectonics is the method by which basic continental drift takes place. Review what youve learned about plate tectonics and continental drift.