Questions that you should be able to answer at the
end of this lecture:
What are the basic parts of the definition
of plate tectonics?
What are the different kinds of plate
boundaries?
What are the different kinds of convergent
boundaries?
What are some examples of each kind of plate
boundaries?
What part of the Earth is the "plate"?
How fast do plates move?
What is the evidence
for plate tectonics?
What is the difference
between plate tectonics and continental drift?
What is the history of
our knowledge of movement of the surface of the Earth?
What are the proposed
mechanisms for plate tectonics?
What is the favored
mechanism for plate tectonics?
What other
observations of the Earth are explained by plate tectonics?
Note: text in red will
not be covered for the upcoming exam.
Plate Tectonics is one of the
cornerstones of Geology. It helps explain (among other
things) the distribution of land and ocean, many of the larger
geomorphic features of both continents and oceans, why different
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks are found in different
places, and as such has revolutionized Geology since its discovery
in the early 1960s. Understanding of Plate Tectonics is
vital to understanding much of Geology today.
More Links to investigate Plate
Tectonics may be found by clicking here: Plate
Tectonics
Simplified map of the world (part) - note
the close correspondence between the coasts of South America
and southern Africa, and North America and Europe/North
Africa.
Africa moved to show the correspondence between
the coasts of Africa and South America.
Africa and Europe moved to show the
correspondence between the coasts of North America and
Africa/Europe. The correspondence would be even closer if
Greenland were moved towards North America.
