topic 4.1 and 4.2 Plate Tectonics and Soil Formation

Do Now (5 min):

1. Grab your poster from the back counter and place it on your desk

2. Take out environmental science journal

3. Update your grades on the wall tracker

4. Login to Quizziz

   
   

Gallery Walk- 15 min

1. Rotate around the room to visit each poster station.

1. Spend about 2–3 minutes at each poster — read carefully and observe visuals.

2. Take notes on key ideas, facts, or visuals that stand out.

3. Write one question or comment about each poster to show your understanding or curiosity.

4. Return to your seat and be ready to discuss or share what you learned.

Multiple Choice

Which statement describes the geologic process that is most likely responsible for the formation of these mountains?

• They are along a transform plate boundary that is no longer active, so erosion is creating deep valleys.

• They are along a transform plate boundary in which plates are currently moving side by side, causing earthquakes and faults.

• They are along a plate boundary in which plates are currently converging, causing uplift and steep slopes.

• They are along a plate boundary in which plates diverged in the distant past, allowing new rock to build up.

Hotspot

Which point is the crust?

Open Ended

Compare and contrast divergent plate boundaries and convergent plate boundaries. (Think about how do the plates move? What landforms are formed? How do the plates interact with the mantle at this boundary?

Multiple Choice

Which model is depicting a divergent boundary between two plates?

• top

• middle

• bottom

Fill in the Blanks

An elevated region with a central valley on an ocean floor at the boundary between two diverging tectonic plates where new crust forms from upwelling magma

Match

Match the following

• Mountains formed here. Example: Himalayas

• Volcanos formed here. Example:

  Andes Mountains

• Volcanic Island Arcs formed here. Example: Aleutian Islands Arc

Continent – Continent

Continent – Ocean

Ocean - Ocean

• Continent – Continent

• Continent – Ocean

• Ocean - Ocean

  
  

Multiple Choice

What geological features are formed as a result of Oceanic-Continental subduction?

• Mid-ocean ridges

• Island arcs

• Coastal mountains and volcanoes

• Mountain ranges

Open Ended

Why do you think most earthquakes happen at transform boundaries?

Word Hints: Pressure, Friction

Drag and Drop

The part of the map highlighted in RED is called ​

Placeholder

and is the site of ​

Placeholder

eruptions and ​

Placeholder

.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

The Ring of Fire

volcano

earthquakes

Divergent Boundaries

Fill in the Blanks

The model below shows two continental plates. The folded mountains in this model form at which type of plate boundary?

Open Ended

Explain how subduction leads to volcanic activity.

Categorize

Options (4)

Isabella planned to make a garden in her back yard, so she dug up the area and added fresh topsoil. As she worked, she thought about topsoil. She knew from her reading it had started as something else. Place the words from the word bank in boxes to show the correct way topsoil is formed. Drag and drop the word that describes the start of soil formation in the first box and the word that describes the final stage in the last box.

Bedrock

Weathering

Topsoil

Decomposition

Multiple Choice

Look at this picture and determine the cause of soil formation on the picture on your right.

This process was caused by -

• weathering of rock from wind and rain

• weathering of rocks from plants and trees

• decomposition of rock from sunlight

• decomposition of rocks from plants

Open Ended

What role do decomposers play in nutrient recycling in soil?

Open Ended

What type of erosion do you think this is? Explain why you picked it.

Open Ended

Explain how weathering of parent material contributes to soil formation.

Reorder

Place the soil horizons in order from TOP to BOTTOM

topsoil; upper part consists mostly of organic matter; lower part is mixture of mineral matter and organic matter -

subsoil; contains fine clay particles from A horizon -

partially weathered parent material -

• Topsoil - consists mostly of organic matter and minerals, very porous & permeable

• Subsoil - contains sand and fine clay particles, note very porous and but still somewhat permeable

• Bedrock - partially weathered parent material, not porous and not permeable

1

2

3

• 1
• 2
• 3

Open Ended

Explain how nutrient depletion affects soil health and crop production.

Categorize

Options (4)

Isabella planned to make a garden in her back yard, so she dug up the area and added fresh topsoil. As she worked, she thought about topsoil. She knew from her reading it had started as something else. Place the words from the word bank in boxes to show the correct way topsoil is formed. Drag and drop the word that describes the start of soil formation in the first box and the word that describes the final stage in the last box.

Bedrock

Weathering

Topsoil

Decomposition

Multiple Choice

Rachel wonders how the number of ice cubes added to a glass of juice affects the temperature of the juice. She wants to design an investigation that tests this question and that will produce clear, repeatable results.

Which data table shows the best experimental design? A, B, C, or D?

AP Classroom- Independent Practice

Watch AP Videos 4.1-4.2, entire video must be watched to receive credit and take notes

Exit ticket:
AP Classroom quizzes for 4.1 and 4.2