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Trevan Powell GS150L ESSENTIALS OF GEOLOGY LAB Professor Dr. Coulson October 29, 2023 Lab 1 – Plate Tectonics and Scien3fic Observa3ons Introductory Materials Have you ever noIced that South America and Africa look like they fit together (Figure 1.1)? Figure 1.1 – A map of the world. Note how the eastern edge of South America (red arrow) matches the western edge of Africa (yellow arrow). Public Domain. You are not the first person to make such an observaIon. For instance, in 1858, Antonio Snider-Pelligrini included an image of South America and Africa fiXng together (Figure 1.2) in his book La Créa’on et ses mystères dévoilés (“The CreaIon and its mysteries unveiled”). Snider-Pelligrini was a creaIonist who believed that the conInents were united in the past as one conInent before they split apart. We usually hear the ideas of “conInental dri\” and “Pangaea” connected to an ancient earth and evoluIonary narraIve. How should ChrisIans think about these issues? Is there evidence that the conInents have moved, and if so, what does that mean for the earth’s history, present, and future? In this lab, you’re going to go on a process of discovery, giving you a taste of what it’s like to be a scienIst. You’ll be making observaIons about various pieces of data and trying to determine what they might mean. At the end, we’ll connect these observaIons together to see what we can learn about conInental dri\.

Figure 1.2 – A figure from La Créa’on et ses mystères dévoilés by Antonio-Snider Pelligrini (1858). The le\ image shows the conInents before separaIng, and they’re shown in present posiIons on the right. Public Domain.

Fossil Observa3ons 1. Observe Figure 1.3 . The two fossils ( Figure 1.3A,B ) are from an exInct creature called Lystrosaurus (life reconstrucIon in Figure 1.3C ). Lystrosaurus is a member of the group DicynodonIa, exInct relaIves of mammals with rotund bodies, toothless beaks, and noIceable tusks. The skull ( Figure 1.3A ) is from South Africa, whereas the fossil of the front half of the body ( Figure 1.3B ) is from AntarcIca. Why is this remarkable? __This is remarkable because it shows how this animal was created to be able to survive in both hot and cold weathers . 2. A hypothesis (plural: hypotheses) is a possible explanaIon for some scienIfic observaIons. Develop two hypotheses for why there might be fossils of the same animal ( Lystrosaurus ) on both South Africa and AntarcIca. a. _The connecIon of the conInents before separaIng allowed the Lystrosaurus to move from AntarcIca to Africa. b. _The Lystrosaurus were created to be able to live in very hot and cold environments. 3. Consider the following hypotheses for how it is that Lystrosaurus can be found on two conInents with an ocean separaIng them. Our first step is rejecIng any hypotheses that are completely unreasonable. Consider the hypotheses below. Can we throw any out at this stage? a. God separately created Lystrosaurus on mulIple conInents. b. Lystrosaurus could swim the distance from South Africa to AntarcIca. c. South Africa and AntarcIca used to be next to each other but have since dri\ed apart. d. There used to be a land bridge connecIng South Africa and AntarcIca that has since sunk into the ocean. Reject/Unreasonable e. Aliens abducted South African Lystrosaurus and dropped them off in AntarcIca. Reject/ Unreasonable f. Lystrosaurus built boats and sailed between the two conInents. Reject/Unreasonable 4. How could we test between the different hypotheses listed in quesIon 3? _We would have to research and study the Bible and other historical arIfacts to be able to test these hypotheses.

Figure 1.3 – Fossils and a life reconstrucIon of the dicynodont Lystrosaurus . A) UC 1516, a skull of Lystrosaurus from South Africa, photographed by the author at the AntarcIc Dinosaurs temporary exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. B) Cast of UW Burke Museum 95525, an arIculated anterior half of a skeleton of Lystrosaurus from AntarcIca, photographed by the author at the AntarcIc Dinosaurs temporary exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. C) A life reconstrucIon of Lystrosaurus murrayi by Dmitry Bogdanov. CC BY-SA 3.0 . Obtained via Wikipedia. A B C

5. Observe Figure 1.4 . The two fossils ( Figure 1.4A,B ) are from an exInct creature called Thrinaxodon (life reconstrucIon in Figure 1.4C ). Thrinaxodon is a member of the group CynodonIa, exInct close relaIves of mammals. The Thrinaxodon skull fossil ( Figure 1.4A ) is from South Africa, whereas the fossil of nearly the whole skeleton ( Figure 1.4B ) is from AntarcIca. Why is it useful as a scienIst to see that another fossil animal is found on both Africa and AntarcIca? _It is useful for a scienIst to see another fossil animal found in two different conInents because it releases more informaIon on the stability of the animal in different weather climates. Since the fossil was found in two completely different climates it can reveal the elements of the animal that allowed it to live. 6. Does the addiIon of Thrinaxodon make any of the remaining hypotheses in quesIon 3 less likely or more likely? Explain. _The addiIon of Thrinaxodon makes the second hypothesis in quesIon 3 less likely because it is said to be an ‘exInct close relaIve of mammals’, which brings me to believe that it was not as likely that they would be capable of swimming such long distances. B C

Figure 1.4 – Fossils and a life reconstrucIon of the cynodont Thrinaxodon. A) UR 156, a skull of Thrinaxodon from South Africa, photographed by the author at the AntarcIc Dinosaurs temporary exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. B) Cast of SAM-PK-K10434, the majority of the skeleton of a Thrinaxodon , photographed by the author at the AntarcIc Dinosaurs temporary exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. C) Life reconstrucIon of Thrinaxodon by Nobu Tamura. CC BY 2.5 . Obtained via Wikipedia.

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