SCRIPT of the Topic: Enumerate the Lines of Evidences that

support plate movement.

Teacher:
Good day Grade 10 Learners. I am Teacher Maricris, your Grade
10 Science Teacher. The Learning Competency that we are going to
attain today is to:
Enumerate the Lines of Evidences that support plate movement.
(Showing the LC and Objectives)
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Explain the theories behind the movement of tectonic plates and
2. Describe the characteristics of the continental drift theory, the seafloor
spreading theory and the convection activity in the mantle.

Teacher: This time make sure that you are holding your worksheets on
this topic together with your ballpen. (voice over and text presented)

Teacher: Now, let me present to you this world map. (Showing of

World Map using left hand sign)
Why do you think the present shapes of the continents don’t fit
perfectly into a supercontinent? (Showing of World Map)

Teacher: Are the continents keep moving? Or the continents are just
stationary in their places?
(Wait for a while for the student to answer the question)

Teacher: Before we’ll proceed, you will be watching a video on Alfred

Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift.
(Voice over) Upon watching this video, please take note important
concepts and be sure to listen carefully on the video being presented.
(Showing of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLTev3VK_oo

Teacher: Students, what have you learned from the video presented?
(Voice Over) Alfred Wegener (pronounced as vey-guh-nuh r), a
German meteorologist, who proposed a theory that “Continents were
once a large mass called “Pangaea”, a greek word which means “All
Earth”. This Pangaea started to break into smaller supercontinent called
Laurasia and Gondwanaland during the Jurassic period. These smaller
supercontinents broke into the continents and these continents separated
and drifted apart since then. (Showing the Evolution of Pangaea-
pubs.usgs.gov)

Teacher: Wegener searched for evidences to support his claim.

If you noticed from the video, there were 6 Evidences presented
about Continental Drift Theory, namely:
1. Fit like a Puzzle
2. Matching Rocks
3. Glacial Scratches
4. Tropical Fossils
5. Similar Fossils
6. Magnetic Pole Reversal

Teacher: Let’s summarize the study of these evidences.

First Evidence: The Continental Jigsaw Puzzle (Display the image as

gestured by the presentor- right side)
It is very impossible that the seven continents, which are currently
thousands of miles away from each other, were actually connected
pieces of a supercontinent.
The most visible and fascinating evidence that these continents
were once one is their shapes. The edge of one continent surprisingly
matches the edge of another.

(Voice Over) The continents fit together like a jigsaw which explains
that the continents were once joined.
South America and Africa fit together. (Show this map/picture in
the power point);
India, Antarctica and Australia match one another; (Show this
map/picture in the power point) Eurasia and North America complete
the whole continental puzzle in the north. (Show this map/picture in the
power point)

Second Evidence: Evidence from Fossils (Display the image of

Glossopteris fossils as gestured by the presentor- right side)
Fossils are preserved remains or traces of organisms like plants and
animals from the remote past. Fossilized leaves of Glossopteris were
found in 250 million year- old rocks. Various fossilized remains of
plants and animals can be found on different locations.
(Voice over) These fossils were located in the continents of Southern
Africa, Australia, India, and Antarctica, which are now separated from
each other by wide oceans.
Indeed, in the past, the continents were connected. (Showing of
distribution of fossils across different continents-
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/continents.html)

Third Evidence: Evidence from Rocks (Display the image as gestured

by the presentor- right side)
The rocks themselves provide evidence that continents drifted
apart from each other.
You have learned from previous discussion that Africa fits South
America. In rock formations Africa line up with that in South America
as if it was a long mountain range.
In other words, similar rock types can be found on different
continents.

Fourth Evidence: Evidence from Coal Deposits (Display the image as

gestured by the presentor- right side)
Coal beds were formed from the compaction and decomposition of
swamp plants that lived million years ago.
Coal deposits lie on tropical point across different continents like
in South America, Africa, Indian subcontinent, South East Asia and even
in Antarctica.
How is coal bed formation possible in Antarctica?
(voice over) The current location of Antarctica could not sustain
substantial amount of life. If there’s a substantial quantity of coal in it, it
means that before Antarctica must have been positioned in a part of
Earth where it once supported large quantities of life. This leads to idea
that Antarctica once, experienced a tropical climate, thus it might be
closer before to the equator.

Teacher: After knowing these evidences,

let’s proceed to answer Activity 1 entitled The Continental Drift. You
are given 5 minutes to answer the activity. (Showing of Activity 1)
Teacher: Are you done with the activity?
Next, let’s discuss on what’s seafloor spreading is.
Teacher: Despite the evidences presented by Wegener, his idea that
continents were once joined together was not accepted by the scientific
society until 1960’s.
During the 1950’s and 1960’s, new techniques and modern gadgets
enabled scientists to make better observations and gather new
information about the ocean floor.
(Voice over) Scientist found a system of ridges or mountains in the sea
floor similar to those found in the continents. These are called mid-
ocean ridges. One of these is the famous Mid- Atlantic Ridge (showing
of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge- huttoncommentaries.com), an undersea
mountain chain in the Atlantic Ocean. The ridge is offset by fractures
zones or rift valleys.
In the early 1960’s, scientist Harry Hess, together with Robert
Dietz suggested an explanation to the continental drift. This is called the
Seafloor Spreading Theory. (Showing seafloor spreading theory)
According to this theory, hot less dense material from below the
Earth’s crust rises towards the surface at the mid-ocean ridge. This
material flows sideways carrying the seafloor away from the ridge, and
creates a crack in the crust. The magma flows out of the crack, cools
down and becomes the new seafloor.
Overtime, the new oceanic crust pushed the old oceanic crust far
from the ridge. The process of seafloor spreading allowed the creation of
new bodies of water.
For example, Red Sea was created as African Plate (showing this
image) and the Arabian plate moved away from each other. (Showing
this image)
Teacher:
(Showing of Diagram of Seafloor Spreading)
(point to the right) In the place where two oceanic plates collide or
when an oceanic plate and a continental plate collide, a subduction
zone occurs.
As the new seafloor is formed at the mid-ocean ridge, the old
seafloor farthest from the ridge is destroyed at the subduction zone.
(Showing picture of subduction zone)
The rate of formation of a new seafloor is not always as fast as the
destruction of the old seafloor at the subduction zone.
(point to right)This explains why the Pacific Ocean is getting smaller
and why the Atlantic Ocean is getting wider.
If subduction is faster than seafloor spreading, the ocean shrinks.
When the seafloor spreading is greater than the subduction, the ocean
gets wider.
 The Seafloor spreading Theory contradicts a part of the
Continental Drift Theory.
According to this theory, continents moved through unmoving
oceans and that larger, sturdier continents broke through the oceanic
crust.
Whereas, the seafloor spreading shows that the ocean is the actual
site of tectonic activity.
Teacher:
So, now, kindly answer Activity 2, entitled Seafloor Spreading
Theory Anagram. You are given 3 minutes to answer the activity.
(Showing Activity 2)
Teacher: Are you finished with the activity? Let’s, proceed.
Let us recall Plate Tectonic Theory.
Teacher:
What causes plate to move?
(Voice over) The Plate Tectonic Theory provided an explanation
about the movement of the lithospheric plates. This theory evolved from
the two former theories; Continental Drift Theory and Seafloor
Spreading Theory.
Teacher:
What facilitates the movement of the plates?
(voice over) Heat is produced in the core that produces convection in the
mantle. This convection causes the plate to move around.
Convection current is a continuous process wherein hot, less then
rising material spread out and reaches the upper mantle causing upward
and sideward forces.
The convection currents rotate very slowly, as they move and drag
the plates along. Because of convection current, the tectonic plates are
able to move slowly along tectonic boundaries, pushing each other,
sliding past each other and drifting away from each other.

Teacher:
To evaluate your understanding, Let us now move to the last part
of the worksheet which is the multiple choice. You are given 5 minutes
to answer the said activity.
Teacher: I presumed that you’re already done answering the activities
provided in the worksheets; I hope that you were able to understand the
key concepts on Continental Drift Theory which states that all the
continents were once one large landmass that broke apart, and where the
pieces moved slowly to their current locations. The Evidences that
support the CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY were:
(Voice over) First, the Continental Puzzle
- The most visible and fascinating evidence that the continents were
once one is their shapes.The edge of one continent matches the edge of
another.
Second, Fossil Evidence
- Fossil evidence for continental drift includes several fossil organisms
found on different landmasses.
Third, Evidence from Rocks and Structures
-Rock evidence for continental drift exists in the form of several
mountain belts that end at one coastline, only to reappear on a landmass
across the ocean.
Fourth, Ancient Climate
- Coal has been found in cold regions and glacial evidence has been
found in warm regions.
Teacher:
Next, Seafloor spreading is believed to occur as hot magma rises at
the rift in the mid-ocean ridge. This magma cools down and becomes the
new seafloor as it pushes the former. The old seafloor is destroyed at the
subduction zone and melts inside the mantle.

Teacher:
Lastly, the Plate Tectonic Theory helps to explain the formation
and destruction of the Earth’s crust and its movement over time.
Scientists believe that the plate’s movement is due to convection
currents in the mantle.
Teacher:
For your assignment, write in your Science journal the things
you’ve learned in today’s lesson.
Teacher:
That’s all for today. This is your Teacher Maricris,
Have a nice day everyone. Keep safe always and God bless!