Lesson 4.8 Investigating Sea Floor Spreading

We are going to use this formative to collect your answers to the Investigating Seafloor Spreading Activity from Concord Consortium.  You can get to this activity by following this link.
https://learn.concord.org/eresources/2842.run_resource_html

The easiest way to do this activity is to open the activity in a separate window on your computer. Be sure that you play with the simulators as you work through the questions. The animations are really helpful in understanding what the evidence from the sea floor is suggesting has been happening in the oceans.

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Why do you think scientists wanted to have a map of the seafloor? How could that help them better understand the Earth?

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Describe the terrain (the stretch of land and the physical features) of the ocean floor from west (left side of graph) to east (right side of graph).

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Drag the labels to the correct parts of the graph of the seafloor.

Draw a line that traces the large mountain range along the ocean floor of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The yellow line shows where the data in the previous graph was measured.

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What type (or types) of rock make up the ocean floor underneath the sediment layer?

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How are the rock types in the oceans different from the continents?

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Match the longitude with the age of the rocks on the ocean floor.

Draggable item		Corresponding Item
-70 degrees		147 million years
-55 degrees		152 million years
-30 degrees		149 million years
-15 degrees		76 million years
-42 degrees		158 million years

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Rock ages across the Atlantic Ocean are

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Compare the graph of ocean floor shape and to the graph of rock ages. How does the pattern of rock ages relate to the topography on the seafloor?

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In the TecRocks model above, change the Map Type to "Crust Age" and click on "Keys and Options" to see the key for rock ages under the Map Type tab.
What color are the youngest rocks?

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Describe the types of rocks and the crust ages that are found near magma forming in the model.

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Based on what you see in the model, what is causing the mountains in the center of the ocean to form?

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What could explain the relationship between the crust age and the volcanic eruptions in the model?

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On the picture, use the drawing tools to indicate which areas have the oldest rocks on the seafloor.

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The rocks in the spots with the red markers are _ near the volcanic mountain ridge, and they are _ when they move farther away.

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How does the model explain the rock ages on both sides of volcanic mountain ridge shown on the map of the Atlantic at the top of the page?

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Look at the rock ages in the yellow squares in the Atlantic Ocean vs. the Pacific Ocean. Describe the similarities and differences that you see.

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The rock ages in the yellow squares indicate that:

1

Why do you think scientists wanted to have a map of the seafloor? How could that help them better understand the Earth?

Describe the terrain (the stretch of land and the physical features) of the ocean floor from west (left side of graph) to east (right side of graph).

Draw a line that traces the large mountain range along the ocean floor of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The yellow line shows where the data in the previous graph was measured.

What type (or types) of rock make up the ocean floor underneath the sediment layer?

How are the rock types in the oceans different from the continents?

Match the longitude with the age of the rocks on the ocean floor.

Rock ages across the Atlantic Ocean are

Compare the graph of ocean floor shape and to the graph of rock ages. How does the pattern of rock ages relate to the topography on the seafloor?

In the TecRocks model above, change the Map Type to "Crust Age" and click on "Keys and Options" to see the key for rock ages under the Map Type tab.What color are the youngest rocks?

Describe the types of rocks and the crust ages that are found near magma forming in the model.

Based on what you see in the model, what is causing the mountains in the center of the ocean to form?

What could explain the relationship between the crust age and the volcanic eruptions in the model?

On the picture, use the drawing tools to indicate which areas have the oldest rocks on the seafloor.

The rocks in the spots with the red markers are _____ near the volcanic mountain ridge, and they are _____ when they move farther away.

How does the model explain the rock ages on both sides of volcanic mountain ridge shown on the map of the Atlantic at the top of the page?

Look at the rock ages in the yellow squares in the Atlantic Ocean vs. the Pacific Ocean. Describe the similarities and differences that you see.

The rock ages in the yellow squares indicate that:

Sum it up! Use two to three sentences to explain how evidence from oceanic rocks can reveal evidence of processes happening inside the Earth.

In the TecRocks model above, change the Map Type to "Crust Age" and click on "Keys and Options" to see the key for rock ages under the Map Type tab.
What color are the youngest rocks?

The rocks in the spots with the red markers are _ near the volcanic mountain ridge, and they are _ when they move farther away.