Plate Movement Homework
Part One Directions: Make a bar graph with the data below. The x axis should contain the name of the
tectonic plate. The y-axis should be the approximate velocity in cm/year. Velocity is the speed of the plate
movement. You must draw at least 7 bars of data (pick 7 plates to create a bar graph with). Don’t forget to
label your axes and use different colors or patterns for the bars on the graph.
`Tectonic Plate
Approximate
direction
African
Antarctic
Arabian
Australian
Caribbean
Cocos
Eurasian
Indian
Juan de Fuca
Nazca
North American
Pacific
Philippine
Scotia
South American
W
SW
NW
N
W
NE
W
N
NE
E
W
NW
NW
W
W
Approximate
velocity in
cm/year
1.622
2.21
2.236
5.808
3.03
11.571
2.252
2.593
10.446
3.586
4.114
11.78
10.574
4.893
4.83
Part Two: Data Analysis. Answer using complete sentences.
1) Which plates are traveling west?
2) Which two plates are traveling the fastest?
3) Which two plates are traveling the slowest?
4) Calculate the average velocity of the African,
Antarctic, and Indian plate. Show your work and
set up below.
5) Calculate the average velocity of the Pacific,
Juan de Fuca, and the Philippine plate. Show your
work and set up below.
6) What are some of the major pieces of evidence for the theory of plate tectonics? How does the theory
explain these observations?
7) You have just returned from an exciting adventure to the center of the earth! Please describe what you
experienced as you traveled deep within our planet. Your writing should be as scientific as possible.
8) Why do plates move? You may include a drawing if this helps in the explanation.