`Name______________________
Date___________
WEBQUEST PART 1: PLATE TECTONICS
1. Go to http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml.
2. Observe the diagram in motion. What is being demonstrated here?
3. The Earth's rocky outer crust solidified billions of years ago, soon after the Earth formed. But the earth is
not a solid shell. Instead, it is a __________________________________________________.
4. Over long periods of time, what 3 actions cause these plates to change in size?
1.
2.
3.
5. How many major plates are there? ______ List them.
6. The theory of plate tectonics explains the movement of ___________________________________ and
explains the cause of: 1._____________________________, 2. ___________________________,
3. ___________________________, 4. ______________________________, &
5. __________________________.
6. At what speed are the plates estimated to be moving per year? __________________________
7. How is oceanic crust different from continental crust? __________________________________.
Types of Plate Movement
8. Divergent plate movement: Draw a diagram of this type of movement using arrows.
9. Explain seafloor spreading. ______________________________________________________
10. Convergent plate movement: Draw a diagram of this type of movement using arrows.
11. What two things can be formed when plates collide? ____________________ & _______________
12. Lateral Slipping Plate Movement: Draw a diagram of this type of movement using arrows.
13. What is formed due to the friction of lateral slipping plates? ________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
14. Read about Wegener and his theory of Pangaea. Then click on the “interactive quiz about plate
tectonics”. Take the quiz! Did you make a 100? ______________
PART 2: EARTHQUAKES
15. Go to http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/how.html
What is an earthquake? _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
16. Describe briefly how earthquakes cause vibrations. ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
17. A fracture in the Earth's crust along which two blocks of the crust have slipped with respect to each
other is called a _______________________. Name an example of one. __________________________
18. At what speeds and heights can tsunamis travel? _________________________________________
19. Go to http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/?source=sitenav
Click on the “Past Day – Magnitude +2.5” title to the right.
20. What is the time and number of earthquakes recorded on the map?
Time: __________________________ # of earthquakes ___________________________
21. How many earthquakes have occurred in the last day? _________________________
22. What was the magnitude of the largest earthquake? ___________________________
Where did it occur? ______________________________________
23. Click on the US Seismicity Map. Count how many earthquakes occurred in the last hour, day, & week in
the US. ____________________hour ________________day _________________week
24. Where in the US do you notice most of the earthquake occurrences? _____________________
25. Go back to the main page, (#19 above). Scroll to the bottom and click “did you feel it?” on the right.
26. List the 3 most recent earthquakes in the US.
Location
Date
Time
Magnitude
_____________________
__________
___________
______________
_____________________
__________
___________
______________
_____________________
__________
___________
______________
27. Go to http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigations/es1001/es1001page02.cfm.
Answer the questions on each slide.
Question 1: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 2: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 3:____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 4:____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 5:____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 6:____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 7:____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 8:____________________________________________________________________________________
Question 9:____________________________________________________________________________________
PART 3: VOLCANOES
28. Go to http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/StHelens.html. Click on “Before Eruption”. View it.
29. Click on “during eruption” and view.
What is the date of the Mt. St. Helens eruption? ___________________________________
30. Scroll down the page. What was the elevation before and after eruption?
_____________________before
____________________after
31. What two plates are colliding? ______________________________________________
32. What is believed to be the cause of the eruption? ___________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
33. What was the highest speed of the gases and steam from the molten rock? __________________
34. List 5 negative effects of the eruption.
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________
PART 4: MOUNTAINS
35. Go http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Plate-Tectonics/Chap3-Plate-Margins/Convergent/Continental-Collision
You should watch the short video to see the animation. Read the to get some great information on the
Himalayas!
What type of mountains are the Himalayas classified as? _________________________________
36. How thick is the continental crust beneath the Himalayas? ___________ What famous mountain is the
highest peak on Earth? _____________________ How high is it?__________________
37. What two plates collided to form the Himalayas? ________________________ and
________________________
38. How fast is the Indian plate moving?____________ Which direction? _______________
39. How far has the Earth risen during the formation of the Himalayas?
40. What 2 things will eventually wear away mountains? __________________________, and
___________________________
YOU ARE FINISHED!!!