Question

Using evidence from the article, defend the concept that Earth’s magnetic poles have swapped places over time

Answer 1

Sample Response: Scientists found evidence of Earth's magnetic field reversal in rocks on the ocean floor at plate boundaries. These rocks have alternating polarity due to magnetization that occurred during their cooling period. Using radiometric dating, scientists estimate that reversals occur approximately every several hundred thousand years.

Answer 2

The earth’s magnetic field affects the alignment of elements like iron in rocks due to Ferro-magnetization. This causes the elements to align in a north-south direction. Therefore scientists have studied this alignment in ancient rocks, such as in the layers of sedimentary rocks, and realized that the earth magnetic field has flipped around 200,000 to 300,000 in the last 20 million years.