Unit Question

Why are fossils of species that once lived together found in different locations on Earth now?

Chapter 1

Question: What is the land like where Mesosaurus fossils are found?

Investigations Questions: 

• What is the land like underneath Earth’s surface? (1.2, 1.3, 1.4)

Key Concepts:

• Earth’s outer layer is made of hard, solid rock. (1.2)

• Earth’s outer layer is divided into sections called plates. (1.3)

• Geologists look for patterns in landforms and in geologic events in order to better understand Earth. (1.3)

• The plates of Earth’s outer layer move. (1.4)

Chapter 2

Question: How did the South American Plate and African Plate move?

Investigations Questions: 

• How do Earth’s plates move? (2.1)

• What happens to the plates and the mantle at plate boundaries? (2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5)

Key Concepts:

• Earth’s plates move on top of a soft, solid layer of rock called the mantle. (2.1)

• At divergent plate boundaries, rock rises from the mantle and hardens, adding new solid rock to the edges of both plates. (2.4)

• At convergent plate boundaries, one plate moves underneath the other plate and sinks into the mantle. (2.4)

Chapter 3

Question: How did the Mesosaurus fossils on the South American Plate and African Plate get so far apart?

Investigations Questions: 

• What do we know about plate motion that is currently taking place? (3.1)

• What evidence do we have of past plate motion? (3.2, 3.3, 3.4)

Key Concepts:

• Earth’s plates travel at a rate too slow to be experienced by humans. (3.1)

• It takes a long time for Earth’s plates to travel great distances. (3.3)

Chapter 4: Science Seminar

Question: What best explains the pattern of volcanic activity and earthquakes on the Jalisco Block?