Video Study Guide: Earth Revealed
Episode 5: The Birth of a Theory

Read the questions first. Then answer them while watching this episode of "Earth Revealed". If you miss it in class you are still responsible for the viewing this segment and answering the questions. The video is available online at http://www.learner.org/vod/video.html?sid=78&po=5 . The index for these programs is online at http://www.learner.org/resources/series78.html# . If you do not have an internet connection at home, view it after school or during study hall in the media center. Each segment is 30 minutes long.

  1. What unifying theory united diverse geological phenomena?
  2. List some of the evidence for Continental Drift.
  3. Who was Alfred Wegener?
  4. What was his "torn newspaper" analogy?
  5. What did skeptics attack about his theory?
  6. What mechanism did he propose for Continental Drift?
  7. What technology developed during WW II helped the theory?
  8. What is "Seafloor Spreading?"
  9. What are "Subduction Trenches?"
  10. How is "Paleomagnetism" used to support seafloor spreading?
  11. How did a study of "Magnetic Field Reversals" support seafloor spreading?
  12. What are "Transform Faults?"
  13. How did drilling by the Glomar Challenger support seafloor spreading?
  14. What is "Convection" and how does it relate to Plate Tectonics?