Alfred Wegner's Continental Drift

Today in class we:
Discussed scientist Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift and the evidence used for the theory such as: congruent landforms, fossils, and climate.

We worked in small groups on continental drift activity

Homework:
The Curious Case of the Mesosaurus worksheet

Plasticity of the Mantle Lab

DO Now:
From memory:
1. Define convection current
2. Draw a convection current and label the points of highest temperature, highest density, lowest temperature, and lowest density.

Today in class we:
Reviewed convection currents
Worked on Plasticity of the Mantle Lab

Homework due by end of class Thursday:
Lab write up on separate paper:
1. Title for the Lab
2. Purpose statement for the lab
3. Description of the lab procedure
4. Written obervations (#1-4)
5. Written conclusions (#1-3)

Heat Transfer in the Earth's Mantle

DO Now:
Brainstorm ways in which heat moves.

Today in class we:
Discussed three types of heat transfer: radiation, conduction,and convection
Discussed how convection currents move through the mantle of the Earth

Homework due Wednesday:
Convection currents worksheet

Earth's Interior Quiz

Earth's Interior

Do Now: Describe two characteristics of each layer of Earth's interior.

Today in class we:
Discussed the characteristics of Earth's interior from crust to core

Homework:
Seismic Wave Worksheet due Wednesday
Study for quiz on Wednesday

Earth's Interior Poster Projects

Today in class we:
- worked on completing our Earth's interior poster projects
- all completed work due Friday

Evidence for Earth's Interior

Do Now: List the three main layers of Earth's interior. Describe one characteristic of each layer.

Today in class we:
- Discussed two forms of evidence geologists have about Earth's interior: rock samples and seismic waves.
- Discussed how both temperature and pressure change as you move through the layers of Earth's interior.

Homework due Wednesday:
pg 12 Math Analysis 1-4

Extra Credit:
1. Bring in a food donation to share with the judges of Thursday's science fair. Items might include juice, fruit, pastries, and snack items (5pts)
2. Attend Wednesday's science fair open house. Find three projects that interest you, type a one page summary of the three projects that answer the following questions (10pts):
- summarize the purpose of each project
- briefly describe how the experimenter tested their hypothesis
- give your thoughts and opinions about each project