Plate Tectonics Gizmo
Vocabulary: collisional boundary, convergent boundary, crust, divergent boundary, earthquake, lithosphere, mantle, plate, plate tectonics, subduction zone, transform boundary, volcano
*Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Volcanoes are openings in Earth’s crust where lava, gas, and ash can erupt. Where are active volcanoes located?
Volcanoes are located in converging oceanic and continental plates.
2. An earthquake is a violent shaking of Earth’s surface. Where are earthquakes common?
In two divergent plates.
*Gizmo Warm-up
Volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, and other features of Earth’s surface owe their origin to the movements of plates: enormous, slowly-moving sections of Earth’s crust. At plate boundaries, plates collide, move apart, move under or over each other, or slide past one another. The theory of plate tectonics describes how the plates move, interact, and change the physical landscape.
The Plate Tectonics Gizmo™ shows a cross-section, or side view, of Earth. (Not to scale.) Above the cross section is a bird’s-eye view of the same location.
1. Turn on Show labels. What are the layers of Earth that you can see?
crust, lithosphere and mantle
2. Turn on Boundary name, and click on each boundary. What four boundaries do you see?
transform, convergent-collisonal, subduction, divergent.
*Activity A: Sliding Plates
Question: What happens when plates slide past one another?
1. Observe: Boundary A is a transform boundary. The arrows below the BOUNDARY A label will move the plates. Click the left arrow once to see how the plates move.
How would you describe the motion of plates in a transform boundary?
The land on the left side of the boundary moves backwards
2. Sketch: Draw a bird’s-eye view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
*Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Volcanoes are openings in Earth’s crust where lava, gas, and ash can erupt. Where are active volcanoes located?
Volcanoes are located in converging oceanic and continental plates.
2. An earthquake is a violent shaking of Earth’s surface. Where are earthquakes common?
In two divergent plates.
*Gizmo Warm-up
Volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, and other features of Earth’s surface owe their origin to the movements of plates: enormous, slowly-moving sections of Earth’s crust. At plate boundaries, plates collide, move apart, move under or over each other, or slide past one another. The theory of plate tectonics describes how the plates move, interact, and change the physical landscape.
The Plate Tectonics Gizmo™ shows a cross-section, or side view, of Earth. (Not to scale.) Above the cross section is a bird’s-eye view of the same location.
1. Turn on Show labels. What are the layers of Earth that you can see?
crust, lithosphere and mantle
2. Turn on Boundary name, and click on each boundary. What four boundaries do you see?
transform, convergent-collisonal, subduction, divergent.
*Activity A: Sliding Plates
Question: What happens when plates slide past one another?
1. Observe: Boundary A is a transform boundary. The arrows below the BOUNDARY A label will move the plates. Click the left arrow once to see how the plates move.
How would you describe the motion of plates in a transform boundary?
The land on the left side of the boundary moves backwards
2. Sketch: Draw a bird’s-eye view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
3. Locate: Turn on Show location. Where on Earth can you find this type of boundary? (Note: You can refer to a world map or atlas for location names.)
*Activity B: Colliding Continents
Question: What happens when two continents collide?
1. Observe: Boundary B is an example of a convergent boundary, where two plates are moving toward one another. When the two plates both contain continental crust, it is called a collisional boundary. Click the left arrow four times to see how the plates move.
How would you describe the motion of plates in a collisional boundary?
the two continental plates collided and formed a mountain
2. Sketch: Draw a side view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
Question: What happens when two continents collide?
1. Observe: Boundary B is an example of a convergent boundary, where two plates are moving toward one another. When the two plates both contain continental crust, it is called a collisional boundary. Click the left arrow four times to see how the plates move.
How would you describe the motion of plates in a collisional boundary?
the two continental plates collided and formed a mountain
2. Sketch: Draw a side view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
3. Locate: Turn on Show location. Where on Earth can you find this type of boundary? (Note: You can refer to a world map or atlas for location names.)
*Activity C: Oceanic Crust Meets Continental Crust
Question: What happens when ocean crust collides with continental crust?
1. Observe: Boundary C is another type of convergent boundary called a subduction zone. Click the left arrow four times to see how the plates move. How would you describe the motion of plates in a subduction zone?
the denser plate subducts.
2. Sketch: Draw a side view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
Question: What happens when ocean crust collides with continental crust?
1. Observe: Boundary C is another type of convergent boundary called a subduction zone. Click the left arrow four times to see how the plates move. How would you describe the motion of plates in a subduction zone?
the denser plate subducts.
2. Sketch: Draw a side view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
3. Locate: Turn on Show location. Where on Earth can you find this type of boundary? (Note: You can refer to a world map or atlas for location names.)
*Activity D: Spreading Plates
Question: How is new crust formed?
1. Observe: Boundary D is a divergent boundary. Click the right arrow four times to see how the plates move.
How would you describe the motion of plates in a divergent boundary?
they separated from eachother
2. Sketch: Draw a side view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
Question: How is new crust formed?
1. Observe: Boundary D is a divergent boundary. Click the right arrow four times to see how the plates move.
How would you describe the motion of plates in a divergent boundary?
they separated from eachother
2. Sketch: Draw a side view of the plate boundary before and after the plate motion. Draw an arrow to show which way the plate moved.
3. Locate: Turn on Show location. Where on Earth can you find this type of boundary? (Note: You can refer to a world map or atlas for location names.)
Conclusion: Write a summary of the 4 types of plate boundaries with descriptions. Describe in at least one sentence what would happen if the earth's plates stopped moving.
There are four types of boundaries. There are Convergent, which can be continental to continental, making mountains, oceanic to oceanic, forming trenches, or continental to oceanic, forming volcanoes. There are divergent, which creates a mid ocean ridge and there are also transform, which make earthquakes. If the plates were to stop moving, then there would be no earthquakes, and the ocean floor would get shallower and shallower.
There are four types of boundaries. There are Convergent, which can be continental to continental, making mountains, oceanic to oceanic, forming trenches, or continental to oceanic, forming volcanoes. There are divergent, which creates a mid ocean ridge and there are also transform, which make earthquakes. If the plates were to stop moving, then there would be no earthquakes, and the ocean floor would get shallower and shallower.