Plate Tectonics

PLATE TECTONICS

SC.7.E.6.5: EXPLORE THE SCIENTIFIC THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS BY DESCRIBING HOW THE MOVEMENT OF

EARTH’S CRUSTAL PLATES CAUSES BOTH SLOW AND RAPID CHANGES IN EARTH’S SURFACE, INCLUDING

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, EARTHQUAKES, AND MOUNTAIN BUILDING. (ALSO ASSESSES SC.7.E.6.1 AND SC.7.E.6.7)

Essential Question:
What are the different
plate boundaries and
how do they cause
changes to the Earth’s
surface?

I DO GUIDED NOTES

Take notes of the information on
the slides.

WHAT MOVES THE PLATES?

•Crust: hard, rigid, thinnest, surface
layer (Continental Crust is land,
Oceanic Crust is the ocean floor).

•Mantle: the layer below the crust:

–Lithosphere: Where the magma meets

the crust.

–Asthenosphere: hot magma,

plastic-like. Convection currents in the magma in this layer make the plates
move.

EARTH’S LAYERS

•Outer Core: Hot, liquid, layer that surrounds the inner core.

–Made of an Iron-Nickel mix.

•Inner Core: Hot, solid, VERY DENSE center of the planet.

High pressure = solid.

–Made of an Iron-Nickel mix.

WHAT IS PLATE TECTONICS?

•The theory of plate tectonics states that
the Earth's crust is broken into plates that
are moving relative to one another as they
ride atop the hot, plastic-like mantle.
•The entire Earth's surface is continually
shifting.

CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES

Continental-Continental: Two continental plates collide. Result: mountain
building and earthquakes. (Ex. Himalayan Mountains)

Continental-Oceanic: One continental and one oceanic plate meet and the
more dense oceanic plate gets pushed underneath the continental plate
(Ex. Ring of Fire) Result: Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Oceanic-Oceanic: When they meet, the denser plate gets pushed under the
other. Result: Volcanic Islands and Earthquakes.

CONVERGENT BOUNDARY EXAMPLES

-Each red dot is
an active
volcano.
-The Pacific Plate
is slipping under
the Eurasian,
North American,
and Indo-
Australian Plates.

DIVERGENT BOUNDARY

Where tectonic plates are moving away from each other.
Magma rises and new crust is added.
RESULT: Mid-Ocean Ridges, Underwater Volcanoes

TRANSFORM BOUNDARY

• Where two plates move (and rub) against each other in

opposite directions. This creates pressure that is released when
the plates move suddenly.

• Result: Earthquakes (Ex. San Andreas fault along the

California coast.)

WE DO
COLLABORATIVE
ACTIVITY