Materials Included In Kit

Additional Materials Required

Teacher Tips

• Enough materials are provided in this kit for 30 students working in pairs. The procedure of this activity may be completed in one 50-minute class period.
• The continental plates may be cut out ahead of time if desired.
• Have students wipe off all markings from the continental pieces after the activity has been completed.
• Save the continental pieces in plastic, resealable bags for future use.
• A globe or current world map may help students position the continental plates along the correct lines of latitude and longitude for Parts I and III. Keep in mind that the continental plates and ocean bases are not drawn exactly to scale.
• Have students further research continental drift and the different types of fossil evidence that support this theory, the theory of plate tectonics and how it relates to continental drift, and the types of climates that may have been present on the continents before Pangaea broke apart.
• Continents continue to move at a rate anywhere between 1 cm and 12 cm a year. Have students research the current movement rates of the continents and perform calculations to determine how long it would take a specific continent to move varying distances.

Answers to Questions

Part I.

1. When did the supercontinent Pangaea form?

   Pangaea formed 250 million years ago.

2. Record all observations about your assembled simulated Pangaea landmass.

   Observations will vary. Students will observe that Pangaea forms the shape of a C, Pangaea is one solid landmass, etc.

3. How well do the continental plates appear to fit together?

   The plates fit together very well as if they are pieces of a giant puzzle.

Part II.

1. Define continental drift.

   Continental drift is the process of the continents breaking off from one another and moving around the globe over millions of years to reach their current locations.

2. Name three types of evidence that support continental drift.

   Fossil, climate, and rock evidence.

3. What is a craton?

   A craton is a stable core mass of the Earth that can be divided into smaller subdivisions relating to their shape or form.

4. Explain, in your own words, the relevance of the following evidence or clues regarding the existence of Pangaea:

   Evaporite and calcium carbonate rock locations.
   Answers will vary. Students should mention that these objects are found on different continents that were once connected.
   The types of cratons found in South America and Africa.
   Answers will vary. Students should mention that the types of cratons found in South America and Africa line up very well when the two continents are next to one another.
   The fossils of Mesosaurus and Glossopteris.
   Answers will vary. Students should mention that these objects are found on different continents that were once connected.

Part III.

1. Describe what happens to drifting continents.

   Drifting continents may collide with one another, move away from one another, or slide past one another.

2. What may happen if continents collide?

   If the continents collide, the rock material between them may fold and buckle to form mountain ranges.

3. Are the continents still moving? Using your textbook, the Internet or local library, describe the current status/movement of present-day continents.

   Yes, the continents are still moving. Student answers will vary. Africa is moving North, the Pacific ocean is getting smaller, the Atlantic is getting larger, etc.

Introduction

In the early 1900s, the German scientist Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) created a great deal of debate when he proposed the idea of a supercontinent called Pangaea. Explore Pangaea and plate tectonics firsthand with this visual representation of continental drift.

Concepts

• Pangaea
• Continental plates
• Continental drift

Background

Pangaea, Greek for “all Earth,” is the name given to the supercontinent that is believed to have existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago (see Figure 1). The term Pangaea was first coined by the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in the early 1900s based on his observations that the margins of the current continents looked like pieces of a giant puzzle. Wegener hypothesized that the landmasses that originally composed Pangaea must had broken off and drifted away from one another over time. He called this process continental drift. Wegener’s ideas about continental drift were very controversial and not accepted until the 1930s, well after his death.

There are three main clues or type of evidence, besides the apparent puzzle-like fit of the continents, that support the process of continental drift—fossil evidence, climate evidence, and rock evidence. Fossils of the reptile Mesosaurus have been found in both Africa and South America. This swimming reptile lived on land and in freshwater. It is very unlikely that it could have swam between the two continents. Mesosaurus must have lived on both continents when they were combined. Another fossil that supports continental drift is the plant Glossopteris. This fossil fern has been found in Australia, Antarctica, Africa, India and South America. Finding this fossil in such different climates implies that all of these areas were once connected and had similar climates. Similar types of rocks have also been found on different continents further supporting the theory of continental drift.

There were three major phases in the breakup of Pangaea. The first phase began in the Early-Middle Jurassic, when a rift, or a place where the Earth’s crust and outermost mantle are pulled apart, was formed between North America and Africa. This rift resulted in the formation of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pangaea broke into two minor super continents called Laurasia and Gondwana in the Jurassic period (see Figure 2). Laurasia, the northern-most minor supercontinent composed of North America and Eurasia, started to rotate clockwise and moved further northward. Gondwana, the minor supercontinent comprised of Africa, South America, India and Antarctica/Australia drifted to the south. The second major phase in the breakup of Pangaea began in the early Cretaceous period when Africa, South America, India and Antarctica/Australia separated from the former land mass Gondwana. The third and final phase of the breakup of Pangaea occurred in the early Cenozoic period. North America and Greenland broke free from Eurasia, opening the Norwegian Sea. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans continued to expand and Australia separated from Antarctica and moved northward.

Experiment Overview

Recreate the movement of landmasses over geological time by manipulating simulated continental plates in the following activity.

Materials

Safety Precautions

This activity is considered non-hazardous. Follow all normal classroom guidelines.

Procedure

Part I. Forming Pangaea—250 Million Years Ago

1. Obtain the Pangaea Continental Plate Worksheet and a pair of scissors.
2. Cut out all of the continental plates on the worksheet along the dotted lines.
3. Note that the continental plate cutouts show the smooth edges of the continental plates and not the current day coastlines.
4. The continental plates are numbered as follows:
   1. North America
   2. Greenland
   3. Eurasia
   4. South America
   5. Africa
   6. Adriatic Promontory
   7. Arabia
   8. Antarctica
   9. Madagascar
   10. India
   11. Australia
5. Obtain the blue ocean base.
6. On the ocean base, situate all of the plates into a single Pangaea landmass. Use Figure 1 in the Background section as a guide.
7. Answer the questions for Part I on the Pangaea Worksheet.

Part II. Evidence of Continental Drift

1. Notice that a large ocean surrounds the Pangaea land mass. Using a dry-erase marker, label this ocean Panthalassa on the blue ocean base.
2. Notice the small sliver of water between Eurasia and the Adriatic Promontory. This is the Thetys Sea. Label this sea on the blue ocean base.
3. Evaporite (water-soluble mineral sediments) and calcium carbonate deposits have been found in North America, Europe, and Africa. Using Figure 3 as a guide, mark the locations of these deposits with triangles on the continental plates.
   {12604_Procedure_Figure_3_Evaporite and calcium carbonate deposits}
4. Every continent consists of a stable core crust called a craton. Cratons are subdivided into smaller groups that relate to their structure. In Figure 4, four different types of cratons are shown—shield, extended crust, platform and basin. They are identified as follows:

   Shield—rocks crop out from the surface
   Extended crust—area where crust is pulled apart or rifted
   Platform—covered by sedimentary rock
   Basin—a low sinking region

5. Remove the South America and Africa plates from Pangaea and use a dry-erase marker to draw the four types of cratons on the plates as shown in Figure 4.
   {12604_Procedure_Figure_4_Cratons}
6. Place the South America and Africa plates next to each other and note your observations. Place the plates back into the Pangaea landmass.
7. Fossils of Mesosaurus may be found in South America and Africa and fossils of Glossopteris are found in Africa, India, Antarctica, Australia and South America. Using a dry-erase marker, mark the locations of these fossils on the continental plates according to Figure 5.
   {12604_Procedure_Figure_5_Fossil evidence}
8. Answer the questions for Part II on the Pangaea Worksheet.

Part III. The Breakup of Pangaea

1. Approximately 164 million years ago Pangaea started to break apart. The area where Pangaea initially began to break apart was near the Tethys sea. Pangea broke apart into two minor super continents—Laurasia and Gondwana (see Figure 2 in the Background section).
2. Simulate this movement of Laurasia and Gondwana using the Pangaea continental plates.
3. 144 million years ago, the Indian and North Atlantic oceans began to form (see Figure 6). Simulate the formation of these oceans using the Pangaea continental plates.
   {12604_Procedure_Figure_6_144 million years ago}
4. Using a dry-erase marker, label the Indian and North Atlantic oceans on the ocean base.
5. About 66 million years ago, the South Atlantic ocean began to form (see Figure 7). Simulate the formation of the South Atlantic ocean using the Pangaea continental plates.
   {12604_Procedure_Figure_7_66 million years ago}
6. Using a dry-erase marker, label the South Atlantic ocean on the ocean base.
7. Move all of the continental plates to their present locations.
8. Answer the questions for Part III on the Pangaea Worksheet.

Student Worksheet PDF

12604_Student1.pdf