INT.SCI - PLATE TECTONICS

• Earth began as a single landmass or supercontinent called _______ .

  Pangaea
• The term Pangaea comes from the Greek words pan which means "___" and gaea which means "_____."

  All and Earth
• Pangaea literally translates to "___ __ _____" or "___ _____."

  All of Earth or All lands
• Pangaea was surrounded by a vast sea or super ocean called ___________, which means "___ ____."

  Panthalassa, All Seas
• One of the earliest theories on the changing geography and surface topography of Earth was the ___________ _____, which was proposed in the early twentieth century.

  Contraction Theory
• This theory suggested that as Earth cooled after it's formation, its surface contracted and wrinkled, with these wrinkles being the mountain ranges on Earth's surface.

  Contraction Theory
• This theory also assumed that all other features on Earth were formed during a single cooling event and that the planet was relatively static, without any significant change since the cooling (and wrinkling) slowed to a halt.

  Contraction Theory
• The contraction Theory was superseded by the ______ __ ___________ _____ proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912.

  Theory of Continental Drift
• The contraction Theory was supersed by the theory of continental drift by ______ _______ in 1912.

  Alfred Wegener
• The contraction Theory was supersed by the theory of continental drift by Alfred Wegener in ____. 


  1912
• He is an Australian geologist, made an analogy between the wrinkles on the surface of a dried shrunken fruit and the mountains on the surface of a cooling earth.

  Eduard Suess
• Pangaea would later break into two smaller supercontinents, ________ and ________.

  Gondwana and Laurasia
• Gondwana is composed of ______, __________, _____ _______, _________, and the subcontinent of _____.

  Africa, Antarctica, South America, Australia, India
• Laurasia was the precursor to ____, _____ _______, and ______.

  Asia, North America, Europe
• In 1960's American geologist Harry Hess proposed the ________ ________ ______, which states that the seafloors or ocean floors—not the continents—move and carry the continents along.

  Seafloor Spreading Theory
• In 1960's American geologist _____ ____  proposed the Seafloor Spreading Theory which states that the seafloors or ocean floors—not the continents—move and carry the continents along.


  Harry Hess
• In ____'s American geologist Harry Hess proposed the Seafloor Spreading Theory,  whiches that the seafloors or ocean floors—not the continents—move and carry the continents along.


  1960
• The ______ __ _____ _________ incorporates the continental drift theory and the Seafloor spreading theory.

  Theory of Plate Tectonics
• Plate Tectonics explains that Earth's lithosphere is composed of many independent massive slabs of solid rocks called ______, which floats on an inner pliable mantle.

  Plates
• How many are the major tectonic plates?

  15
• How many primary plates are in there?

  7
• How many Secondary Smaller Plates are in there?

  8
• Enumerate the primary plates.

  Eurasian Plate, Australian Plate, Pacific Plate, North American Plate, South American Plate, African Plate, and Antarctic Plate.
• Enumerate the secondary plates.

  Juan de Fuca Plate, Nazca Plate, Cocos Plate, Carribean Platez Philippine Sea Plate, Arabian Plate, Indian Plate, and Scotia Plate.
• He is a professor and geologist from the University of Texas at Arlington, predicts that the continents will reform into a supercontinent.

  Christopher Scotese
• Christopher Scotese called the supercontinent _______ ______ (meaning "the Last Pangaea") but later decided to change it to _______ _______ ("The Next Pangaea").

  Pangaea Ultima, Pangaea Proxima
• He believes that the cycle of a supercontinent splitting into small continents and recombining as a single landmass will continue in the next billion of years.

  Christopher Scotese