Drifting Continents
This activity is a teacher-led demonstration of continental drift and includes a math worksheet for students involving the calculation of continental drift over time. Students will understand what continental drift is, why it occurs, and how earthquakes occur because of it.
An illustration depicting continental drift.Copyright Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_Snider-Pellegrini_Opening_of_the_Atlantic.jpg
Engineers study the motion of fluids and how the differences in temperature and density can affect natural forces such as air flow, ocean currents and continental drift. Engineers investigate continental drift to understand what causes earthquakes so they can build structures to withstand these natural disasters. For all engineers working with data and equations, it is extremely important to label values with the correct units so the resulting calculations are correct.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Use observation to explain natural phenomenon.
- Understand the concept of continental drift and be able to describe convection currents.
- Relate a model demonstration to real life processes.
- Understand how continental drift causes earthquakes.