Question

Europe and North America are moving apart by about 5 m per century. As the continents separate, new ocean floor is created along the mid-Atlantic Rift. If the rift is 5000 km long, what is the total area of new ocean floor created in the Atlantic each century? (Remember that 1 km = 1000 m.)

Answer 1

The area of the ocean floor is given by:

A = WL

A = area, W = distance between Europe and North America, L = distance along the Mid-Atlantic Rift.

Calculate the rate of change of both sides of the equation. This involves taking some change in A divided by Δt and taking some change in W divided by Δt:

ΔA/Δt = L(ΔW/Δt)

ΔA/Δt = change in area over time, ΔW/Δt = change in distance between Europe and North America over time

Given values:

L = 5000km

ΔW/Δt = 5m/century = 0.005km/century

Plug in and solve for ΔA/Δt:

ΔA/Δt = 5000(0.005)

ΔA/Δt = 25km²/century