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Chapter Plate Tectonics: A Scientific
7 Revolution Unfolds
Plate Tectonics: A Scientific Revolution Unfolds opens with a discussion of historical views about the
placement of continents and ocean basins. It continues by examining the lines of evidence that Alfred
Wegener used in the early 1900s to support his original continental drift hypothesis. This evidence included
the fit of the continents, fossils, rock types, structural similarities between continents, and paleoclimates. Also
presented are the main objections to Wegener’s ideas, particularly the lack of a driving mechanism.
Following a brief overview, the theory of plate tectonics is examined in detail. The distinction between
Wegener’s idea of continental drift and the science of plate tectonics is addressed. The movement of
lithospheric plates and different types of plate boundaries are examined extensively. This chapter looks at the
features associated with different types of plate boundaries and how these features shape Earth’s surface.
Ages and distribution of ocean-basin sediments, hot spots, and paleomagnetism are used to provide additional
support for plate tectonics. The chapter closes with comments about the driving mechanism of plate tectonics.
FOCUS ON CONCEPTS
After reading, studying, and discussing the chapter, students should be able to:
7.1 Discuss the view that most geologists held prior to the 1960s regarding the geographic positions of the
ocean basins and continents.
7.2 List and explain the evidence Wegener presented to support his continental drift hypothesis.
7.3 Discuss the two main objections to the continental drift hypothesis.
7.4 List the major differences between Earth’s lithosphere and asthenosphere and explain the importance
of each in the plate tectonics theory.
7.5 Sketch and describe the movement along a divergent plate boundary that results in the formation of
new oceanic lithosphere.
7.6 Compare and contrast the three types of convergent plate boundaries and name a location where each
type can be found.
7.7 Describe the relative motion along a transform plate boundary and locate several examples on a plate
boundary map.
7.8 Explain why plates such as the African and Antarctic plates are getting larger, while the Pacific plate is
getting smaller.
7.9 List and explain the evidence used to support the plate tectonics theory.
7.10 Describe two methods researchers use to measure relative plate motion.
7.11 Summarize what is meant by plate–mantle convection and explain two of the primary driving forces of
plate motion.
Plate tectonics is an important topic in geology. It can be more challenging to teach some later book chapters,
especially volcanoes, earthquakes, mountain building, and the ocean floor before having established a good
foundation in plate tectonics.
• When you introduce plate tectonics, you may find that many or most students are at least somewhat
familiar with the fact that the continents once fit together and have since moved. It is important to
1. Briefly describe the view held by most geologists regarding the ocean basins and continents prior to
the 1960s.
Ocean basins and continents had fixed geographic positions and were very old.
2. What group of geologists were the least receptive to the continental drift hypothesis? Explain.
North American geologists were the least receptive because most of the evidence was from Africa, South
America, and Australia; these continents were unfamiliar to these geologists.
1. What was the first line of evidence that led early investigators to suspect that the continents were
once connected?
Similarity of continental coastlines and jigsaw-like fit of the continents.
2. Explain why the discovery of the fossil remains of Mesosaurus in both South America and Africa,
but nowhere else, supports the continental drift hypothesis.
Mesosaurus was a freshwater reptile and could not have migrated across the ocean. In addition, there is
no evidence of any bridge or other connector between these two continents.
3. Early in the twentieth century, what was the prevailing view of how land animals migrated across
vast expanses of open ocean?
Lower sea level and land bridges, rafting, and island stepping stones.
4. How did Wegener account for the existence of glaciers in the southern landmasses at a time when
areas in North America, Europe, and Asia supported lush tropical swamps?
Pangaea; southern continents were one landmass situated about the South Pole.
1. What two aspects of Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis were objectionable to most Earth
scientists?
Gravitational force of the Sun and Moon moved the continents the way they moved the tides and the idea
that continents plowed through the oceanic crust.
1. What major ocean floor feature did oceanographers discover after World War II?
Mid ocean ridge.
4. List the three types of plate boundaries and describe the relative motion at each of them.
• Divergent – plates move apart.
• Convergent – plates move towards each other.
• Transform – plates slide laterally past each other.
1. Sketch or describe how two plates move in relation to each other along divergent plate boundaries.
Plates move apart, with new rock being formed between them due to magmatic upwelling.
1. Explain why the rate of lithosphere production roughly balances with the rate of lithosphere
destruction.
Subduction at convergent boundaries, which destroys old lithosphere, occurs at the same rate as seafloor
spreading and new rock generation at divergent plate boundaries.
4. Why does oceanic lithosphere subduct, while continental lithosphere does not?
Oceanic lithosphere is denser than continental lithosphere. Continental lithosphere is too buoyant to allow
for subduction.
1. Sketch or describe how two plates move in relation to each other along a transform plate boundary.
The plates slide laterally past each other. See Figure 7.21 for a diagram.
2. Differentiate between transform faults and the other types of plate boundaries.
Transform faults do not generate new lithosphere or destroy old lithosphere. The movement involves two
plates sliding past each other rather than moving apart or coming together.
1. What is the age of the oldest sediments recovered using deep-ocean drilling? How do the ages of
these sediments compare to the ages of the oldest continental rocks?
The oldest ocean sediments are 180 million years old, while the oldest continental rocks are more than 4
billion years old.
2. Assuming that hot spots remain fixed, in what direction was the Pacific plate moving while the
Hawaiian islands were forming? When Suiko Seamount was forming?
The Pacific plate was moving northwest when the Hawaiian islands were forming and moving north when
the Suiko Seamount was forming.
3. How do sediment cores from the ocean floor support the concept of seafloor spreading?
Sediment cores can be radiometrically dated, and their distance from a spreading center recorded. Data
have shown that older cores are further from the mid-ocean ridges while the youngest rocks and
sediments are near the ridges.
4. Describe how Fred Vine and D.H. Mathews related the seafloor-spreading hypothesis to magnetic
reversals.
They found that new rock made from cooling magma magnetizes itself in the current direction of Earth’s
magnetic polarity. They found lateral symmetry in magnetic patterns on either side of mid-ocean ridges,
showing that these separated stripes were formed at the same time at the mid-ocean ridges.
1. What do transform faults that connect spreading centers indicate about plate motion?
These transform faults are aligned parallel to the direction of spreading. Measuring their alignments
carefully will reveal the direction of plate movement.
2. Refer to Figure 7.35 and determine which three plates appear to exhibit the highest rates of motion.
The Pacific plate, the Australian-Indian plate, and the Nazca plate.
1. Describe slab pull and ridge push. Which of these forces appears to contribute more to plate
motion?
As old, dense lithosphere subducts, the slab is pulled deep into the mantle by gravity and destroyed. The
elevation of mid-ocean ridges allows new lithosphere to slide down; this is ridge push. Slab pull seems to
be the dominant force.
2. What role are mantle plumes thought to play in the convective flow in the mantle?
Mantle plumes are thought to originate deep within the mantle, close to the core. The heat from the
bottom of these plumes rises through the mantle, generating convective flow.
1. After referring to the section in the Introduction titled “The Nature of Scientific Inquiry,” answer
the following:
a. What observation led Alfred Wegener to develop his continental drift hypothesis?
b. Why did the majority of the scientific community reject the continental drift hypothesis?
c. Do you think Wegener followed the basic principles of scientific inquiry? Support your answer.
a. The puzzle-like fit of the coastal outlines of South America and Africa.
b. The continental drift hypothesis was rejected by the scientific community because Wegener lacked a
credible mechanism to explain why the continents were moving or drifting. Also, he incorrectly
proposed that the continents broke through the thinner oceanic crust although no evidence existed to
support this idea.
c. Yes, overall Wegener followed the basic principles of scientific inquiry. He proposed evidence to
support his various explanations although not all of his evidence supported his conclusions.
2. Referring to the accompanying diagrams that illustrate the three types of convergent plate
boundaries, complete the following:
a. Identify each type of convergent boundary.
b. On what type of crust do volcanic island arcs develop?
c. Why are volcanoes largely absent where two continental blocks collide?
d. Describe two ways that oceanic–oceanic convergent boundaries are different from oceanic–
continental boundaries. How are they similar?
3. Some predict that California will sink into the ocean. Is this idea consistent with the theory of plate
tectonics? Explain.
California will not necessarily sink into the ocean, but the continued motion of the Pacific plate will
separate a portion of California from the North American plate along the San Andreas Fault system. The
broken segment will then move with the Pacific plate as a large island since it is composed of continental
crust rather than oceanic.
a. five
b. Continents A, B, and C are moving away from each other because of the divergent boundary that
occurs between all three of them.
c. Active volcanoes are found on both A and B because each of them has an oceanic plate that is
subducting underneath the continental plate.
d. Continent C does not have volcanoes because it does not have a plate boundary involving subduction
or rifting. Hot spot activity or continental rift could perhaps produce volcanoes in the future.
5. Volcanoes, such as the Hawaiian chain, that form over mantle plumes are some of the largest shield
volcanoes on Earth. However, several shield volcanoes on Mars are gigantic compared to those on
Earth. What does this difference tell us about the role of plate motion in shaping the Martian
surface?
The extremely large volcanoes on Mars suggests that either the tectonic plates were moving really slowly
when the volcanism occurred or perhaps Mars was lacking tectonic plates and the large volcanoes
resulted from hot, stationary plumes inside of Mars.
6. Imagine that you are studying seafloor spreading along two different oceanic ridges. Using data
from a magnetometer, you produced the two accompanying maps. From these maps, what can you
determine about the relative rates of seafloor spreading along these two ridges? Explain.
Along the first ridge, the plate movements were apparently steady and relatively fast (as evidenced by the
narrow magnetic stripes). On the second ridge, the movements are relatively slower over the most recent
geologic times, but the plates were apparently moving faster at some point further back in time.
7. Australian marsupials (kangaroos, koala bears, etc.) have direct fossil links to marsupial opossums
found in the Americas. Yet the modern marsupials in Australia are markedly different from their
American relatives. How does the breakup of Pangaea help to explain these differences (see
Figure 7.24)?
The break-up of Pangaea some 200 million years ago allowed for the separation of once-joined
landmasses and the isolation of common organisms to undergo a long period of evolutionary
development. The resulting organisms today share a common ancestry because of their common origins
on Pangaea, but the long period of time has allowed for distantly related groups to develop their own
unique characteristics.
8. Density is a key component in the behavior of Earth materials and is especially important in
understanding key aspects of plate tectonics. Describe three different ways that density and/or
density differences play a role in plate tectonics.
Density or density differences in plate tectonics play a key role in 1) the subduction of more dense
oceanic crust underneath continental crust; 2) the rising of hotter mantle material at divergent boundaries
and the sinking of colder lithospheric plates at subduction zones, thus creating the “conveyor belt” model
that somehow drives the plate tectonics engine; and 3) the collision and uplift of continental crust at
continent to continent convergent boundaries due to lower densities of continental rocks.
a. London, Boston
b. Honolulu, Beijing
c. Boston, Denver
1. The changing positions of the continents and the redistribution of land and water over Earth’s
surface have had a significant impact on Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere through
time. Atmospheric and oceanic circulations are interrelated systems driven by heat energy from the
Sun. As continents moved about, the distribution of heat energy over Earth’s surface varied, which,
in turn, caused changes in global wind patterns and ocean circulation. Different atmospheric and
oceanic circulation patterns produced changes in temperature, precipitation, storm tracks, and
global climates in general. Furthermore, when the continents were assembled into large
landmasses, their size and location produced climates much different from today.
Life on Earth was greatly affected by the distribution of landmasses and the resulting climates. At times
landmasses may have been arid and may have promoted the evolution of certain adaptable species. Then,
as a consequence of plate tectonics, the landmass may have split and/or changed global position and
become tropical, forcing extinctions and/or adaptations. A good example of the impact of plate tectonics
on life is found in the unique species that currently inhabit Australia.
2. Assume that plate tectonics did not cause the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea. Use the
accompanying map of Pangaea to describe how the climate (atmosphere), vegetation and animal
life (biosphere), and geologic features (geosphere) would be different from the conditions that exist
today in the areas currently occupied by the cities of Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; New York,
New York; and your college campus location.
Miami, FL: Miami would be situated on the equator, warmer, and perhaps a tropical rainforest. Without
the breakup of Pangaea, Miami would be landlocked and continental rather than having beaches and a
coast.
Chicago, IL: Chicago would be far removed from any moisture sources (the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of
Mexico do not exist) and therefore rather arid. Its location in the subtropics would probably result in
warm temperatures.
New York, NY: New York would be part of present northwest Africa and, like Chicago, inland from any
sources of moisture, dry, and subtropical. Pre-Pangaea continental collisions would have formed the
Appalachian Mountains.
Your college campus: (answers will vary)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• How the Earth Was Made (2008) Narrated by Alec Baldwin. History Channel, 1 hour 34 minutes.
• Inside Planet Earth (2008) Narrated by Patrick Stewart. Discovery Channel, 2 hours.
Websites
Annikki, hyvänimikko,
yön tytti, hämärän neiti,
kuvoansa katselevan,
itseään ihastelevan,
verevyyttänsä vetehen.
Ja ainiaaksi särpimekseen
Kuutehen kovasimehen
seitsemähän sieran päähän,
Siksi hänellä on kiire, kun eivät kapiot ole vielä aivan valmiit. Ja
loimien väliin kutoutuu samalla monta toivorikasta ajatusta, sillä hän
on itse saanut sulhonsa valita, ei tarvinnut tyytyä isän ja veljien
valitsemiin.
niin silloin
*****