March 8-12: Tectonic Test & Abiotic/Biotic Factors

Students will be tested on the plate tectonic unit that we've been working on this Wednesday (March 10). Please help your students to study - ask them about the different types of boundaries, and how plate tectonics affects the other parts of Earth's system (for example, how do mountains affect the atmosphere, the biosphere, the hydrosphere, etc.). They also need to understand Wegener's theory of continental drift, the evidence for it, and how that theory has changed with increasing technology (we can actually see the tectonic plate boundaries from space!). This unit has come at a unique time of history where we've experienced some pretty serious earthquakes. Students should be able to explain to you what happened in the last Chile earthquake.

At the end of the week, we will move on to a new topic. Here at the end of the quarter we will be discussing ecology - and we'll start with biotic and abiotic factors that influence different ecosystems.