Discovering the sea floor

The project “Discovering the sea floor” aims to analyze and discuss the importance of science and technology for understanding the sea floor, a topic covered in the 7th grade, in the Natural Sciences subject.

The arguments presented by Alfred Wegener to defend the Continental Drift hypothesis were clear and well-founded, but the idea of ​​continental mobility was the target of much criticism. It was only after 1960 that advances in science and technology made it possible to study the ocean floor and understand the mechanism capable of moving the continents. It was through the use of techniques such as sonar, robot vehicles and drilling processes (Deep Sea Drilling Project) that it was possible to explore the sea floor and discover its morphology. The sea floor is generally made up of a thick layer of sediment. This layer is made up of sand, silt, limestone and microfossils, and can be up to 2000 meters thick and rests on basalt rock.

To introduce the topic, an enrichment activity was carried out using Google Earth to better understand the dynamics and expansion of the sea floor. The students were able to relate the age of the rocks that make up the sea floor with the distance from the axis of the mid-ocean ridge, concluding that they are older the further away they are from that ridge. A video was also presented explaining the topic covered “Morphology and expansion of sea floors”, which served as a starting point for the construction of the proposed project.

The students were separated into working groups, to which a script was distributed with guidelines for the work to be developed. The methodology used by the working groups was the construction of models that allowed a three-dimensional view of the morphology and expansion of the sea floor. To do this, they used various reusable materials such as Styrofoam, cardboard boxes, cardboard, among others. To complement the information on the models, the students carried out research on the instruments and technologies used in the exploration of the sea floor, such as the ROV Luso, a remotely operated vehicle, acquired by Portugal in 2008, within the scope of the Extension Project of Continental Platform of Portugal.

We can conclude  that the project work methodology, where students use various materials, instruments, digital tools, relating technical and scientific knowledge, contributes effectively to the development of their learning and skills.