Activity Summary: Students will be able to use microfossil to determine the age of the seafloor at different locations, and use the age of the seafloor and its distance from the mid-ocean ridge to determine the rate of seafloor spreading.

This lesson uses microfossils from drill sites on both sides of the Mid-Atlantic ridge. For each site, students will use microfossil data and the distance from the mid-ocean ridge to determine the rate of seafloor spreading. This lesson could be included in a unit on plate tectonics, providing evidence for plate movement.

This lesson has been revised and updated based on Using Google Earth and Ocean Cores to Analyze Seafloor Spreading.