Unit 3- Plate Tectonics
Name: ________________________
Period: _______
Standard: 8-3 Continuation of Unit 2
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
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Explain how the theory of plate tectonics accounts for the motion of the lithospheric plates, the geologic
activities at the plate boundaries and the changes in landform areas over geologic time (8-3.6).
 Illustrate the creation and changing of landforms that have occurred through geologic
processes (volcanoes – land and water, mountain building forces, trenches, ridges, etc.).
Vocabulary to Know:
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Pangaea
Continental Drift
Plate Tectonics
Plate
Mesosaurus
Hot Spot
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Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Convergent Boundary
Sea floor spreading
Divergent Boundary
Convection current
Volcanic Island
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Subduction zone
Rift/ridge
Transform Boundary
Glossopteris
Fracture Zone
Trench
Seamount
Diagrams: Lithospheric Plate Boundaries – (use pages 142-149 to help you)
Transform: _Cont. v. Cont. __
Divergent: _Oceanic v. Oceanic__
Convergent: _Oceanic v. Oceanic___
Example: Pacific and North American
Example: North American and
Eurasian (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)
Divergent: _Cont. v. Cont. __
Example: North American and Pacific
(Aleutian Islands)
Convergent: __Oceanic v. Cont.__
Example: African and Arabian (Red
Sea)
Example: Nazca and South American
(Andes Mountains)
Convergent: _Cont. v. Cont. _
Example: Indian and Eurasian
(Himalayan Mountains)
Convection Currents – Draw a diagram showing convection occurring inside the earth. Label
the following: crust, mantle, lithosphere, asthenosphere, outer core, inner core, hot, cold,
more dense and less dense.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
A
B
Asthenosphere
Outer Core
Inner Core
Crust
Upper Mantle
Lithosphere
Mantle
Mountains
Valley/ Seas
C
10. Volcanic Mountain
11. Trench
12. Subduction Zone
13. Ridge/ Rise
14. Volcanic Island
15. Trench
16. Subduction Zone
17. Continental Crust
18. Oceanic Crust
D
E
F
Hot spots – Diagram how hot spots occur. Name an example of one: ___Hawaiian Islands____
What are hot spots? _Areas of the asthenosphere,
not on a plate boundary, which have a higher temperature
than other areas causing hot, less dense magma to rise to the
surface.__
Describe Diagram: Magma is rising to the surface at
point A from a hot spot, then over time, the plate moves in a northwestern
direction and magma rises up again to form point B behind it.
People:
o
Alfred Wegner: Came up with the Hypothesis of Continental Drift.
o
Henry Hess: Came up with the hypothesis of seafloor spreading.
Theory of
Plate
Tectonics
Concept Map:
Combines
Continental
Drift
Seafloor
Spreading
Hypothesis:
Hypothesis:
Continents have
slowly drifted to their
current location.
Land is spreading and
being formed at the
mid-ocean ridges.
Evidence
Glossopteris
Glacial Scrapings
Mesosaurus
Evidence
Rock/ Mountain
Clues
Magnetic
Reversal
Age of Rocks
Essential Questions:
Part A) Read p. 134-137, answer some of the self check on p. 137 using the question in your answer.
1.
Self Check #1
Wegener’s climate clue evidence of continental drift was fossils of warm climate plants were found on Antarctica
and glacial scraping were found in Africa. This proved both land masses must have been in a different climate
sometime prior.
2.
Self Check #2
Rock structures, such as mountains and rock sequences, were similar on different continents which supported the
hypothesis of continental drift.
3.
Self Check #3 (use Glossopteris as an example)
Fossils of the fern-like plant Glossopteris were found on Antarctica, Australia, India, Africa, and South America. All
widely spread apart continents today. So, these fossils supported the hypothesis of continental drift.
4.
Why was Wegner’s idea rejected initially (at first)?
Wegner and other scientists could not explain HOW, WHEN or WHY these continents moved.
Part B: Read p. 138-140, answer some of the self check on p. 140 using the question in your answer.
1.
Self Check #1 The magnetic reversals recorded in iron-bearing minerals show that new rock was being formed at the
ridges over time.
2.
Self Check #2 The closer the rocks are to the ridge, the younger the rocks.
3.
Self Check #4 The partly molten material will rise to the surface because it is less dense. It pushes the seafloor away
from the ridge in both directions.
4.
Self Check #5 Seafloor Spreading explains how the crust could move- something that the continental drift hypothesis
could not do.
Part C: Read p. 142-151.
1. Look at Figure 9. What is happening where the Nazca plate meets the South American plate?
Subduction at a continental v. oceanic convergent plate boundary.
2. What type of land formations/natural disasters might occur here?
Volcanic mountains, trenches, and earthquakes.
3.
What two plates are to the west of the mid-atlantic ridge?
North American and South American
4.
What two plates are to the east of the mid-atlantic ridge?
Eurasian and African.
5.
What type of boundary is associated with the seafloor spreading between these two plates?
Divergent oceanic v. oceanic plate boundary.
6.
Look at Figure 12. Draw the two convection currents that would make a ridge.
7.
Draw the two that would make a trench.
8.
What current technology supports the theory of plate tectonics? Satellites and lasers.
Part D) p. 156: 1-14, just write the letter for 7-14 and answer 15-21 in complete sentences.
1. Asthenosphere
5. Plate Tectonics
9. C
13. B
2. Continental Drift
6. Seafloor Spreading
10. A
14. D
3. Pangaea
7. B
11. A
4. Lithosphere
8. D
12. B
15. Few volcanic eruptions occur at the Himalaya’s because it is a continental v. continental convergent
boundary. Neither plate is denser, so neither plate will subduct and melt to create volcanoes.
16. Scientists believe Africa must have once been located near the poles in order to have supported
glaciers.
17. (use picture under number 23 to help you)
Magnetic Reversal is shown in iron-bearing minerals at the mid-ocean ridges, since it changes as move
away from the ridge.
18. Volcanoes do not form along the San Andreas Fault because it is a transform boundary. Volcanoes
can occur at divergent or convergent boundaries.
21.
Convection currents
circulate hot material
along divergent
boundaries.
Older seafloor is
forced apart.
Magma rises to
the seafloor.
Magma cools to
form new
seafloor.
To Do:
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Unit 3 Preview _________
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Introduction to the Seafloor Activity ______
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Unit 3 Vocab. _________
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???Activity 42: The Theory of Plate Tectonics ______
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Continental Drift Video Questions ________
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Lab Journal - Activity 40: Continental Puzzle
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???Lab Journal - Activity 44: Mapping Plates
________
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???Mapping Quakes and Plates Lab Sheet ________
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Activity 45: Understanding Plate Boundaries Chart
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Lab Journal - Activity 41: Continental Drift
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Why is their Lithosphere Lab _____
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Plate Boundary Review/Convection Currents on back
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Lab Journal - Activity 46: Convection Currents
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Activity 47: Spreading Plates and Activity 48: Other
Plate Directions ________
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Unit 3 Project______
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Unit 3 Vocab Stations/ Crossword _________
Project Grid:
Points:
Pretend you are Alfred Wegner
and you want to get your work
published. Write a letter to the
board of scientists with all of the
evidence to show your hypothesis
is accepted.
Create a 3-D model with
moving pieces to display
continental drift. Include
locations of all continents
when in Pangaea and currently.
Create a rap, poem or song
about the plate boundaries and
plate tectonics
Points:
Create a video as if you are a
scientist reporting from a plate
boundary location. Include key
scientific information on past
events and evidence of movement
at that location.
Create a foldable showing a
cross section of the Earth. Also,
include a small 3-D model to go
along with it. Be sure to
incorporate the convection
currents.
Pick a location that you would
like to visit that lies on a plate
boundary. Create a power point
showing the type of boundary
and the effects of that boundary
on life at that location. Be sure
to explain why you would like to
live there. Be prepared to
present it.
Points:
Create a plate tectonics board
game complete with game pieces,
dice, cards, time piece, and board.
The game must be organized in a
box and include directions for play
and rules. It also must include all
vocabulary and concepts discussed
in Unit 3.
Build a shoebox model (means
that all models will fit inside a
shoebox) of 5 real plate
boundaries. Make sure to show
the differences in geologic
activities which occur at each,
densities of either side of the
boundary, and arrows showing
movement. Also, check to
make sure your plates are
accurately displayed using a
nearly accurate scale.
Following learning about hot
spots, research hydrothermal
vents (geysers located on the
ocean floor in the deep sea).
1. Predict – based on the plate
tectonics map- where in the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans they
might find the greatest numbers
of hydrothermal vents. 2. Create
a lesson teaching the class
about hydrothermal vents
including a power point, a notes
worksheet, and a quiz.
Optional bonus project – Create a 3-D plate’s puzzle showing all plates (use p. 143). Make sure that the oceanic plates are thinner
than the continental plates. Each plate should be a different color. If you choose to do this, ask Mrs. G for a map to help you size
your puzzle.