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BELLRINGERS
ESS2: Earth's Systems
MS ESS2-3
Evidence of past plate motions

Map showing the Cynognathus was only on South America and Africa
Why haven't Cynognathus fossils been found in Australia?

Common Misconceptions

Additional Resources

 

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Stages of Pangea breaking apart.
Arrange the images (using the letter labels) according to the order that shows how Pangea split apart to form the present day arrangement.
Note: A-B-C-D-E is NOT the correct order.

Common Misconceptions

  • The surface of the Earth does not change much.

Additional Resources

 

Answer
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By NOAA – http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/2minrelief.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=634795

domdomegg, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Diverging Plates Diagram
The line through the center of the map represents the mid-Atlantic ridge, the location where the North and South American plants are diverging (moving away from) the Eurasian and African Plates.
Which parts of the Atlantic Ocean seafloor would you expect to be the oldest? Why?

Common Misconceptions

  • The surface of the Earth does not change much.

Additional Resources

 

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Graphic map showing the ages of the seafloor
This graphic shows the ages of the sea floor.
Are the plates moving towards or away from each other in the location where the arrow is pointing? How do you know?

Common Misconceptions

 

Additional Resources

 

Map Showing Directions Plate are Moving

Map showing directions the tectonic plates are moving

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