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Lesson Objectives:
Overarching Questions:
Focus Questions:
Why do the continents move, and what causes earthquakes and volcanoes?
Lesson Questions:
Earth's lithosphere divided into several large tectonic plates that ride on top of slowly moving
rock in Earth's asthenosphere. Convection in the asthenosphere causes these plates to move.
Tectonic plates move at extremely slow rates, which is why we cannot feel them moving. We
can, however, witness the effects of their motion.
Convection also occurs in the semisolid rock of the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere consists of
partially molten rock, which is plastic-like in nature. It is not considered a fluid, but it behaves
like a fluid in some ways.
Plate Tectonics
Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are features that commonly occur at plate boundaries.
Tectonic plates are the cause of many natural processes on Earth's surface. For example,
convection within Earth causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Mountains and ocean basins
also result from tectonic movement. At some plate boundaries, new rock is brought to the surface
through convection, causing underwater mountain ranges. Elsewhere, huge underwater trenches
are the result of one tectonic plate sliding under another, causing the rock of the lower plate to
dissolve back into the asthenosphere.
What Are Three Primary Types of Plate Boundaries and What Landforms Do
They Cause?
There are three primary types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform.
Divergent boundaries form where two plates are moving away form one another. As they
separate, magma rise between them, filling the gap with new rock. Volcanic mountains occur
along divergent plate boundaries. Convergent plate boundaries form where plates are moving
toward each other. At convergent boundaries, one plate may be subducted beneath the other,
causing it to dissolve into the mantle and form magma. The magma rises to the surface, resulting
in volcanic mountains. At other convergent plate boundaries, two continents push against each
other and push upward. This causes the plates to fold, forming a high folded mountain range,
such as the Himalayas. Finally, a transform boundary forms where two plates move past each
other. Sometimes, the edges of these plates get stuck, causing stress to build. When the stress is
released, earthquakes occur.
Misconception: Earthquakes occur when plates move apart from each other, creating huge
gaps.
Actually, earthquakes occur because of tectonic movement. While small cracks in the surface
may form during an earthquake, huge gaps do not form.
Tectonic Forces
Discover the forces that create igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock.
The rock cycle involves the transformation of one type of rock into another. Plate tectonics is an
important part of the rock cycle. Igneous rocks form from hardened magma that rises from
Earth's asthenosphere through gaps between the tectonic plates. Over time, the rock erodes, is
transported, and is deposited as sediment on Earth's surface. Over time, sediment becomes
compacted and forms sedimentary rock. As sedimentary rock is exposed to extreme heat and
pressure, it may turn into metamorphic rock. Eventually, rock near a plate boundary may be
subducted back into Earth's asthenosphere. Thus, plate tectonics is a primary cause of the
movement of rock material through the rock cycle.
Video Segments
Reading Passages
Tectonic Forces
Interactive Video
Video Segments
Plate Tectonics
Earth’s crust consists of a number of plates, immense slabs of rock that are always in motion—
crashing together, pulling apart, and grinding past each other. In this concept, you will learn how
these very slow movements build and rebuild (the “tectonic” part) the face of the Earth.
View
California: A State Predestined for Landslides The geology of California, including its faults and uplift,
makes landslides particularly likely....
LAUNCH
Video Segment (7:27)
Living in the Himalayas The Himalayan Mountains are home to the giant panda as well as other plants
and animals that have...
LAUNCH
Namib Desert, Namibia: The World's Most Ancient Desert Identical basalt rocks in both Argentina and
Namibia are the same age. This provides evidence th...
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The Last Ice Age When India collided with Asia the Himalayan Mountains were thrust upward, exposing
large beds of ...
LAUNCH
The Ring of Fire Subduction zones contain the most active volcanoes. The Ring of Fire surrounds the
Pacific Ocean....
LAUNCH
COPY- NOTES- PUT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN YOUR NOTEBOOKS
Answer: The Earth's lithosphere is broken into solid sections called tectonic plates. These solid
sections float on top of the asthenosphere. The movement and flow of heat within the
asthenosphere cause the plates to move.
Answer: Tectonic plate movement causes earthquakes and volcanoes; it also creates mountains
and ocean basins.
What are three primary types of plate boundaries and what landforms do they cause?
Answer: Transform boundaries happen where two plates slide past each other; they cause faults
and earthquakes. Divergent boundaries happen where two plates move apart; they cause mid-
ocean ridges and volcanic activity. Convergent boundaries happen where two plates move
toward each other; they cause mountains and seismic activity.
Answer: Volcanoes tend to form where plates collide. They are the mechanisms by which
magma reaches the surface of the Earth; magma may also flow to Earth’s surface between the
moving plates at a divergent boundary. Called lava on Earth’s surface, it cools and forms igneous
rock. Igneous rock is a type of rock in the rock cycle. Through weathering, igneous rocks can
become sediment, which eventually can become sedimentary rock. This sedimentary rock, or the
original igneous rock, can also become metamorphic rock when exposed to heat and pressure
beneath Earth’s surface. Metamorphic rocks in turn melt and become magma. This magma plus
additional magma from the Earth's interior begin the cycle again.