Chapter V.

The Active Earth:

Plate Tectonics
 Alfred Wegener

was the scientist who

Continental proposed the
Drift Hypothesis continental drift theory
in the early 20th century
Pangaea
is hypothetical supercontinent that
included all current land masses, believed
to have been existence before the
continents broke apart during Triassic and
Jurassic periods.
 Gondwanaland

is a large supercontinent that existed in southern hemisphere, clustered near

the antartic circle, before it began to break up 200 million years ago, consisting
of the modern day continents of Antarctica, India, Australia, South America and
Africa.

Laurasia
is a large supercontinent that existed in northern
hemisphere before it began to break up 200 million years
ago, consisting of the modern day continents of North
America, Europe, and Asia.
 The Sea-Floor Spreading
Hypothesis

occurs along mid-ocean ridges

Sea-Floor Spreading
molten material from below earth
occurs at mid-ocean
surface moves upward, and forms
ridges
oceanic crust.

Sea-Floor Spreading help

Oceanic Crust is formed throgh
explain continental drift in volcanic activities and then gradually
the theory of plate moves away from the ridge
tectonics.
 Chapter VI. Theory of Plate
Tectonics

Plate Tectonics

is the theory that the outer rigid

layer of the earth (the
lithosphere) is divided into a
couple of dozen "plates" that
move around across the earth's
surface relative to each other like
slabs of ice on a lake.
 Plate Boundaries

locations where two tectonics plates meet.

Three Different Types of Plate Boundaries

Convergent boundary
— at this type of
boundary two plates are moving
towards one another.
Divergent boundary
— is a site where two
plates are moving away from one
another.

Transform boundary
— Here, two plates
are sliding past one another.
 a hypothetical earthquake at the north pole are
refracted at the core mantle boundary and shadow
P-waves zones created.

from large earthquakes pass through the earth, Seismic Waves

they are refracted or bent like rays of light bend
when they pass through a glass prism.
The Crust
this brittle outmost layer varies in thickness
from about 25 to 75 km under continents and
from about 5 to 10 km under the oceans.

is quite complex in structure and is made from many Continental

different kinds of rocks. Crust
The Mantle The Core
at a depth of about
Below the crust lies 2900 km is the
the dense mantle, boundary between
extending to a the mantle and the
depth of 2890 km. earth's core.
 Thank you
for listening