C3 Chemicals in Our
Lives – Risks & Benefits
Lesson 1: Moving Continents
Objectives
 MUST
explain that rocks formed by
processes that are still happening
today
 SHOULD explain the evidence that
land making up Britain has moved
across the Earth
 COULD understand that scientific
theories account for observations,
make links and predictions
Key Words

You need to be able to define the
following:
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Tectonic plates
Supercontinent
Plate tectonics
Igneous rocks
Moving Continents
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The continents all used to be joined together
Over millions of years they have moved
The Earth’s crust is divided into tectonic plates
These plates sit on molten rock which is
moving due to the convection currents within
it
The movement in the molten rock drags the
plates across to different places
This is called continental drift
Textbook Answers
1)They see changes in rocks caused by tectonic activity
today; they see similar evidence in British rocks formed a
long time ago; so they think that these were caused by
tectonic activity.
2) a) There are different types of rock in Britain formed
under different climate conditions.
b) Rocks contain fossils of animals and plants found in
tropical climates.
3)There are different fossils on either side of the boundary.
4)The direction of the magnetism becomes fixed in the rock
as it solidifies; as the rock is carried over the Earth its
direction is altered.
5)Similar rocks, fossils, magnetic orientation in both
locations.
Worksheet Answers
Activity 1 (Low demand)
2) Statements referring to weathering and
erosion go in the second column, all the rest
into the first.
3) Rocks of different types will have been
formed in different places or at different
times
Worksheet Answers
Activity 2 (Standard demand)
1) a) Stories based on the sequence of plate
movements shown in the maps.
b) Plate boundaries; igneous rocks; faults and
re-alignment of rocks caused by earthquakes;
metamorphic rocks formed by heat and
pressure; fossils of organisms living in different
climates; (magnetic alignment).
2) The positions on the timeline should be
something like this:
500mya.A..........400mya.............300mya......C......
.......200mya...D.......100mya..E.......B..present
Worksheet Answers
Activity 3 (High demand)
1) Magnetism fixed when rocks cool;
alignment changed when continents moved;
evidence of where and when rock was
formed.
2) The rocks formed in different places;
moved together or at different times;
magnetic North has moved.