DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

REGION VII
Division of Mandaue City
Mandaue City, Cebu

EVIDENCES OF PLATE
MOVEMENT
SCIENCE 10

SELF LEARNING KIT

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 FOREWORD

This self-learning kit in Science is intended for grade

10 students. It mainly presents the different lines of
evidence that support plate movement.

In this self-learning kit, the activities included will allow

the students to sightsee on the different evidences that
cause the drifting, colliding or sliding of lithospheric plates,
at the same time describe the conditions of these
evidences that supports the process. Learners will
recognize how continental drift theory is developed and
how rocks help in explaining the seafloor spreading
theory. The concepts will enhance the knowledge of
students on the formation of mountains, existence of
volcanoes and occurrence of earthquakes.

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 EVIDENCES OF PLATE MOVEMENT
SCIENCE 10

Content Standard:
Demonstrate understanding of the relationship among the
locations of volcanoes, earthquake epicenters, and mountain
ranges.

Learning Competency:
Enumerate the lines of evidence that support plate movement.
S10ES-la-j-36.6

I. WHAT HAPPENED?

According to Plate Tectonic Theory, the earth’s landmasses were once joined
together in a supercontinent called Pangaea. Driven by an internal force, this
Pangaea was broken down into several pieces called plates which continents are
riding in. The force continues to manipulate the plates which made them move,
change shape and position until the present. There were several geophysical
evidences which were introduced by Scientists that tell the history of earth and prove
that indeed the earth’s surface undergoes evolution.

The present location of the continents gives an indication of its origin. Biological
remnants and geological structures, compositions and arrangements were some of
the evidences to prove the existence of Pangaea.
After performing the task on this SLK, students are expected to;

A. Identify which continents are connected before;

B. Enumerate the evidences that supports plate movements; and
C. Appreciate the importance of these evidences in explaining lithospheric
changes

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TEST YOURSELF

1. How does the map best support the

theory of plate tectonics?
A. Points B and C are located on continents
are roughly the same size.
B. Points A, B, C, and D have not changed
their positions on the globe.
C. Points B and C appear to have once
been next to each other but to have since
drifted apart.
D. Points A is located on a continent that is
substantially larger than the continent on which Point D is located.
2. Which of the following types of evidence best supports the theory of plate
Tectonics?
A. precise measurements of the thickness of oceanic crust
B. precise measurements of the thickness of continental crust
C. precise measurements of relative motions of pieces of earth’s lithosphere
D. precise measurements of the relative motions of earth’s inner and outer cores
3. Which of the following discoveries would provide an accurate evidence that
Earth’s continents had once been part of a large landmass that has since
broken apart?
A. fossils of different species of organisms found at Eurasia and Australia
B. fossils of organisms that lived during the same time period found at points
Eurasia and Australia
C. fossils of the same species of organism found at east coast of South America
and West coast of Africa
D. fossils of organisms that lived hundreds of millions of years apart found at
east coast of South America and West coast of Africa
4. Which of the following statements below is
correctly describes the illustration?
A. band A is older band B
B. band A is older than D
C. band A is younger than B
D. band B is younger than C
5. Which of the following observations about landforms can supports the theory
of plate tectonics?
A. Volcanoes are distributed randomly distributed on every continent.
B. As lave cools on Earth’s surface, it forms a variety of igneous rocks.
C. Impact craters have Impact craters have ben found both dry land and on the
ocean floor.
D. Mountain ranges sometimes appear to be continuous on opposite sides of an
ocean.
6. What happens at a mid-ocean ridge when magma wells up in the rift valley
and cools into new lithosphere?

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 A. The oceanic plates on either side of the valley are pushed apart.
B. The oceanic plates on either side of the valley come together as
they melt.
C. The new lithosphere binds together the oceanic plates on either
side of the valley.
D. The new lithosphere pushes up an oceanic plate on one side of
the valley until it slides into the other plate.
7. Where can you find the youngest rocks on the ocean floor?
A. near Asia
B. near continents
C. at the mid-ocean ridges
D. far from mid-ocean ridges
8. What does the formation of alignment of iron minerals in rocks indicate?
A. asthenosphere is moving
B. core has reversed its position
C. gravity made the earth break apart
D. earth’s magnetic fields had reversed several times
9. How does the magnetic pattern of ocean floor rocks on one side of the ridge
compare to other side?
A. younger than the other side
B. at right angle to the ocean ridge
C. an opposite polarity of the other side
D. a mirror image of that of the r other side
10. What does the glaciers grooves found in Africa indicates?
A. Africa has always been near the equator.
B. Africa was once in the polar region.
C. The continents have not moved.
D. The seafloor is spreading.

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DO THIS….

Activity 1.

Fit Together!

Below is a broken picture, draw a line from column A to B and to column C to

connect the pieces together then answer the questions.

Questions:
1. What features helped you connect the broken pieces?
2. How the prints (lines, text, drawings) help you confirm that the pieces are
connected?
3. What is the indication that the picture is perfectly reassembled?

Recall that the lithospheric plates are constantly moving and that continents are
riding on the plates. Therefore, their present location is not their original position way
back time. So, what do you think was the arrangement of the continents based on
the concept of Pangaea?

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DO THIS….
Activity 2
“Who is My Neighbor?”
Trace the picture of the continents below. Cut and arrange them to form a Pangaea.
Use the land bridge at the center as your clue.

Questions:
1. What does the map show?
2. Which pair of continents seemed to fit together, which is also evident when
you look onto the present world map?
3. With what you observed on the map, do you believe that there was really a
Pangaea existed? Why?

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 DO THIS ….

Activity 3
A TRIP TO REMEMBER!

The illustration shows the distribution of fossils across different continents. Fill in the
necessary information needed in the table below.

Figure 1. Distribution of Fossils across Continents

Name of Organism Distinct characteristic Place where fossils
found

Questions:
1. What have you observed on the distribution of fossils?
2. Glossopteris ferns are plants that grow in tropical forest, explain how come
their fossils were found in Antarctica known to have a very low temperature?
3. Which among the three reptiles were able to travel more? Why do you think
so?
4. Do you think these fossils found in different continents can be a substantial
evidence to support the theory on moving plates? Explain your answer by
citing an example.

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 II. WHAT TO LEARN

Evidences of Plate Movements

Continental Drift Evidences

Puzzle like fit of continents –the most visible evidence is the edge of one continent
matches the edge of another. The Atlantic coast of Africa and South America
appears to fit together neatly, like the piece of a jigsaw puzzle. The same shape is
also traced out by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Fossils are remnant, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of a past geologic
age that has been preserved in Earth’s crust. Various examples of fossils found on
separate continents and in no other regions. This indicates that these continents had
to be once joined together because the extensive oceans between these land
masses act as a type of barrier for fossil transfer. Fossils are mostly found where
sedimentary rocks are present usually places like river valleys, cliffs and hillsides.
Rock Formations
It has been noted that the coastlines of South America and West Africa seem to
match up, the terrains of separate continents conform as well. Examples include: the
Appalachian Mountains of Eastern North America linked with the Scottish Highlands,
the familiar rock strata of the Karroo system of South Africa matched correctly with
the Santa Catarina system in Brazil, and the Brazil and Ghana mountain ranges
agreeing over the Atlantic Ocean.
Coal Deposits
Coal formed millions of years ago when the earth was covered with huge swampy
forest where plants like giant ferns, reeds and mosses grew. These plants died then
undergo decomposition and compaction. Coal beds were discovered in South
America, Africa, Indian subcontinents, Southeast Asia and even in Antarctica
The fossils of tropical plants, in the form of coal deposits were found in
Antarctica. This lead to the theory that this landmass was previously much closer to
the equator where the climate is temperate and lush vegetation could flourish.
Glacial Evidence and Ancient Climate
Glacial deposits formed during the Permo-
Carboniferous glaciation (about 300 million years
ago) are found in Antarctica, Africa, South
America, India and Australia. If the continents
haven’t moved, then this would suggest an ice
sheet extended from the South Pole to the equator
at this time - which is unlikely as the UK at this
time was also close to the equator and has
extensive coal and limestone deposits. If the continents of the southern hemisphere
are re-assembled near the South Pole, then the Permo-Carboniferous ice sheet
assumes a much more reasonable size.

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 Evidences that supports Seafloor
Spreading

In the Seafloor spreading theory, Harry

Hess postulated that molten material
from Earth’s mantle continuously wells up
along the crests of the mid-ocean ridges that
wind for nearly 80,000 km (50,000 miles)
through all the world’s oceans. As
the magma cools, it is pushed away from the
flanks of the ridges. This spreading creates a
successively younger ocean floor, and the
flow of material is thought to bring about the
migration, or drifting apart, of the continents.
The continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean, for example, are believed to be moving
away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at a rate of 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 inch) per year, thus
increasing the breadth of the ocean basin by twice that amount. Wherever continents
are bordered by deep-sea trench systems, as in the Pacific Ocean, the ocean floor is
plunged downward, under thrusting the continents and ultimately reentering and
dissolving in Earth’s mantle, from which it had originated.
Magnetic Stripes in Rocks
The magnetism of mid-ocean ridges
helped scientists first identify the
process of seafloor spreading in the
early 20th century. Basalt, the once-
molten rock that makes up most
new oceanic crust, is a fairly magnetic
substance, and scientists began
using magnetometers to measure the
magnetism of the ocean floor in the
1950s. What they discovered was that
the magnetism of the ocean floor
around mid-ocean ridges was divided into matching “stripes” on either side of the
ridge. The specific magnetism of basalt rock is determined by the Earth’s magnetic
field when the magma is cooling. The continual process of seafloor spreading
separated the perfectly symmetrical stripes in an orderly pattern.
Magnetic reversal or “flip” happens when the North Pole transformed in South
Pole and the South becomes North Pole due to the change in the direction of flow in
the outer core.

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DO THIS….
Activity 4

Write the evidences that supports plate movement inside the object, give a short
description.

Seafloor
Continental Spreading
Drift Theory

Questions:
1. What two continents seem to fit together most noticeably?
2. Glossopteris fossils can be found in South America, Africa, India, Antarctica,
and Australia, what do the distribution of Glossopteris fossils tell us about the
position of continents before?
3. How does coal deposit support continental drift?
4. How did Alfred Wegener use landforms to help prove his theory of continental
drift?
5. Why the youngest type of rocks was found in mid ocean ridge?

III. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?

POST ASSESSMENT:
I. Identify the different line of evidences the supports plate movements. Put a check
mark if it is under the continental drift, star if seafloor spreading and an X if not
included.
____ 1. Age of Rocks ____ 6. Magnetic Stripes
____ 2. Fossils ____ 7. Puzzle like fit of continents
____ 3. Distribution of Faults ____ 8. Volcanic Eruptions
____ 4. Earthquake Epicenters ____ 9. Coal Deposits
____ 5. Glacial Evidence & Ancient ____ 10. Rock Formations
Climate

II. Encircle the letter of the best answer.

1. Which statement does not support Wegener’s Continental Drift theory?
A. Same fossils are found in different continents.
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 B. Young rocks are found in mid ocean ridge.
C. Coastlines and terrains are match up.
D. Edges of continents fit together.
2. Which of the following continents were neighbors before?
A. Australia- Europe C. South America- Africa
B. Europe- Australia D. South America – Asia
3. The following are evidences for continental drift theory, EXCEPT
A. Coal deposits C. Magnetic stripes
B. Fossil distributions D. Rock features
4. The process of Earth's magnetic North pole becomes the magnetic South and
South becomes North pole.
A. Change polarity C. Magnetic minerals
B. Magnetic reversal D. Magnetic attraction
5. Which of the following can be used as evidence that the seafloor is spreading?
A. The crust of the continents is denser than the crust of the ocean.
B. The crust of the ocean is older than the crust of the continent.
C. The rotational poles of the Earth have migrated.
D. Mountains are denser than then mantle.

WRAP UP!

 Alfred Wegener based his theory on the evidences from fossils

embedded in rocks, rock formations, coal, glaciers, and characteristic
of continents edges.
 The age of rocks and magnetic stripes in the ocean floor support the
seafloor spreading theory.
 Seafloor spreading creates new crust. Subduction destroys old crust.
The two forces roughly balance each other, so the shape
and diameter of the Earth remain constant.
 Plate tectonic theory helps explain the formation and destruction of
the Earth’s crust and its movement over time

References:

Printed Resource:
K to 12 curriculum Guide Science 10
ElectronicResources:
https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Wegener/wegener_2.php
https://www.britannica.com/science/fossil
http://publish.illinois.edu/alfredwegener/evidence/
https://sites.google.com/site/ericaessenhighearthenviro/evidence-of-continental-
drift/types-of-continental-drift
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/
https://www.earthlearningidea.com/
https://www.keslerscience.com/

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
REGION VII
Division of Mandaue City
Mandaue City, Cebu

NIMFA D. BONGO, Ed.D., CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent

ESTELLA B. SUSVILLA, Ed.D

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

JAIME P. RUELAN, Ed.D

Chief Education Supervisor

ISMAELITA N. DESABILLE,Ed.D
Education Program Supervisor- LRMDS

RUFINO T. TUDLASAN, Ed.D

Education Program Supervisor- SCIENCE

ERLINDA F. CUYOS
Evaluator

CONNIE P. NUÑEZ
Writer/Layout Artist

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