NAME _______________________________________ PERIOD ________
Snack tectonics
Materials needed for each group:
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One large graham cracker broken in half (i.e., two square graham crackers)
Two 3-inch squares of fruit roll up
Cup of water
Frosting
Sheet of wax paper
Plastic knife or spoon
Step 1: Make the Model
 Spread frosting onto wax paper about 1 cm thick
1. What does the frosting represent? ________________________________
Step 2: Model a Divergent Boundary
 Place both squares of your fruit roll up next to each other on top of the
frosting (asthenosphere)
 Press down very slowly on the fruit roll ups
 Slowly pull the fruit roll ups apart about 1 cm
2. What does the fruit roll up represent? _____________________________
3. Why did you have to press down on the fruit roll up?
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4. What happened when you pulled the fruit roll ups apart?
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5. What did the frosting represent when you pulled the fruit roll ups apart?
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Step 3: Model a Continental-Oceanic Collision
 Remove 1 of the fruit roll ups from your model
 Place one graham cracker square LIGHTLY on the frosting (asthenosphere)
right next to the fruit roll up
 Gently push the graham cracker toward the fruit roll up (oceanic plate) until
the two overlap and the graham cracker is on top
6. What does the graham cracker represent? ___________________________
7. Why did you have to lay the graham cracker lightly on the frosting? ______________________________________________________________
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8. What happened to the oceanic plate (fruit roll up)? ______________________________________________________________
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Step 4: Model a Continent-Continent Collision
 Now you will model what happens when two continents collide
 Remove the fruit roll up from the wax paper
 Place one end from both graham crackers (continental plates) in the cup of
water for a few seconds
 Lightly place the graham crackers (continents) back on top of the frosting
(asthenosphere)
 Gently push the graham crackers together (continents)
9. What happened to the continents when you pushed them together?
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10. What does pushing the graham crackers (continents) together represent?
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Step 5: Model a Transform Boundary
 Pick the graham crackers (continents) up off the frosting (asthenosphere)
 Place them together so that two dry edges are touching
 Push one graham cracker past the other to simulate a transform boundary
11. What is the name of the fault in California that is a real transform boundary?
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12. Draw a picture below of the three boundaries you modeled today.