Exercises

Place your answer in a Word document labeled with the first four letters of your name followed by platemod. If your name is Smith your file should be named smitplatmod.doc. Place the numeral of each problem and your answer below it in the Word file. You should probably keep this page and the Word document at the same time. Add each of the other exercises to the document as you complete them. When you have finished the exercises, attach the Word file to an email to your instructor with the subject "Plate tectonics module exercises."

1. Imagine you are an astronaut who has just landed in a planet, that has yet to be explored. Your assignement is to determine as much as you can from surface examination whether plate tectonics operates on the planet. Explore the activity below before you answer the question.

2. Why do you think it took so long for plate tectonics to be accepted as a valid scientific theory? Remember continental drift was first proposed in 1858 and was not fully accepted as plate tectonics until the late 1960's.

3. Describe how one might determine whether the Indian subcontinent was once part of what is now Australia, and if it was, when it separated.

4. Describe what would happen if the rates of subduction and seafloor spreading were not equal on a global basis.

5. Research and write a 500 word essay on the heat sources of the upwelling magma that results in seafloor spreading. Look of the Web, but remember that many Web sites are not reveiwed or verified by any authority on the subject.

 

Virtual Laboratory