Earth Science
Name: _____________________________________ Period: ___ Date: __________
Unit 2: Earth’s Interior and Plate Tectonics
Do Now:
(1). Referring to the diagram being displayed on the screen, which plate is being subducted beneath western
South America?
1. the South American plate
2. the Nazca plate
3. the Pacific plate
4. the South Atlantic plate
(2). Monday’s Do Now Exercise asked this question:
“Recalling our jigsaw puzzle activity on the continents Friday, what findings along edges of continents gave
rise to the idea that these continents must have been joined together a long time ago?”
The answer to this question needs to mention:
1. how easy it was to solve the puzzle
2. different continents were joined together a long time ago
3. similarities of fossils found along the edges of different continents
4. the theory of Continental Drift
Explore:
Watch the video: Plate Tectonics—What Drives the Plates?
https://youtu.be/Nf8xvhb1eBE
How Mantle Convection causes Plate Tectonics
_________ ______________ refers to the
movement of the rigid plates around the surface
of Earth. The outer portion of the planet, or
________________________, is relatively rigid
because it is relatively cold. The lithosphere
varies in thickness but is typically a hundred or
so kilometers thick.
The
mantle’s
________________
_______________ break the lithosphere into
plates and move them around the surface of the
planet. These plates may move away from,
move by, or collide with each other. This process
forms ocean basins, shifts _________________,
and pushes up ____________________.
Subduction zones produce the largest and deepest earthquakes in the world. The water in the
_________________
_______________ plate is carried deep into the mantle and causes the
_______________ of the overlying mantle rock. The resulting ___________ is hot and buoyant (less dense),
so it __________ to the surface and creates ________________.
________________ plates converge, or come
together. The plates ________ against each other
and build up. That's how ______________ are
formed.
________________ plates diverge, or go away from
each other. The plates _______ away from each
other, causing ________ to spew out and develop
new land.
___________________ are caused by movement
among the tectonic plates.
Exit Slip:
(1). At the edges of tectonic plates, four things can happen. Match the plate movement with the common
effects on Earth’s surface.