BULAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Bulan, Sorsogon

SCIENCE 10
LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET 4 ( QUARTER 1)
NAME: ___________________________________ GRADE 10 SECTION ______________

LEARNING COMPETENCY: Explain the different processes that occur along the plate boundaries (S10ES-Iaj-36.3)

CONVERGING OCEANIC CRUST LEADING PLATE AND CONTINENTAL CRUST LEADING PLATE

Fig 1. Cross sectional diagram of converging

Continental and Oceanic plates
What happens during collision of two plates? one has
continental edge while the other has an oceanic edge. From the
diagram, it is clear that this event gives rise to the formation of a
volcanic arc near the edge of a continental leading plate. The
reason for this is because the denser oceanic crust (Plate A)
undergoes what we call subduction process or the bending of the
crust towards the mantle. Since the mantle is hotter than the
crust, the tendency is, the subducted crust melt forming magma.
Addition of volatile material such as water will cause the magma
to become less dense, hence allowing it to rise and reach the
crust once again and causing volcanic activities on the
continental leading plate.
For the oceanic crust, one important geologic feature is
formed, and that is the trench. Also called submarine valleys,
ocean trenches are the deepest part of the ocean. One of the
deepest is the Philippine trench with a depth of 10 540 meters.
Another subsequent effect of the continuous grinding of plates against each other is the occurrence of earthquakes. The
subduction of plate can cause earthquakes at varying depths. Most parts of the world experience occasional shallow earthquakes –
where the focus is within 60 km of the Earth’s surface. Of the total energy released by earthquakes, 85% comes from shallow
earthquakes. Meanwhile, about 12% of energy originates from intermediate earthquakes or those quakes with a focal depth range of 60
to 300 km. Lastly, are the deep earthquakes whose origin is more than 300 km to 700 km below the Earth’s surface

TASK 1.
Directions: Study the figure showing the phenomenon caused by the converging of continental and oceanic plates. With
the help of the figure, explain the phenomenon and the formation of its resultant landforms.

1.Explain what happens to Continental plate as it collides with Oceanic plate?

_______________________________________________________________

2. What do you think will happen to the leading edge of the continental
plate as it continues to move downward? Why?
___________________________________.

3. As the plates continue to grind against each other, what other

geologic event could take place?
__________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

OCEAN-CONTINENT CONVERGENCE

When oceanic crust converges with continental crust, the denser oceanic plate plunges beneath the continental plate. This
process, called subduction, occurs at the oceanic trenches. The entire region is known as a subduction zone.
Subduction zones have a lot of intense earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The
subducting plate causes melting in the mantle above the plate. The magma rises and
erupts, creating volcanoes. These coastal volcanic mountains are found in a line above the
subducting plate (Figure below). The volcanoes are known as a continental arc.
The movement of crust and magma causes earthquakes. Remember that the mid-ocean
ridge is where hot mantle material upwells in a convection cell. The upwelling mantle melts
due to pressure release to form lava. Lava flows at the surface cool rapidly to become
basalt, but deeper in the crust, magma cools more slowly to form gabbro. The entire ridge
system is made up of igneous rock that is either extrusive or intrusive. The seafloor is also
igneous rock with some sediment that has fallen onto it.

FORMATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO

For the study of the formation of the Philippine islands, the most important of the major plates are: the Eurasian plate and the
Indo-Australian plate. While the most important of the intermediate-sized plates is the Philippine Sea plate.
 The Eurasian plate is the bedrock of what encompasses the continents of Asia and Europe. It is very stable plate which
includes the submerged margins of the continents of Asia and Europe. These are called continental shelves. A continental shelf is a
part of the continental crust that has shallow water.
The Indo-Australian plate is found south of the Eurasian and the Philippine Sea plates. It is generally oceanic, being
submerged by Indian and Pacific Oceans, but it holds two gigantic land masses – the island continent of Australia and Indian
subcontinent. Recent researches, however, show that these two land masses are moving independently of each other, thus, may
actually be parts of separate plates.
The Philippine Sea plate is found east of the Eurasian plate. It is the bedrock of the major islands of the Philippines,
Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Marianas.
The extreme southeastern portion of the Eurasian plate, which is a part of Southeast Asia, is a continental shelf. The region is
called the Sunda Shelf. The highland sections of this shelf emerged as islands. These islands, which include the Philippine islands of
Palawan, Mindoro and Romblon, geologically belong to the Eurasian plate. The Sunda Shelf and its islands is known as the Sundaland
block of the Eurasian plate.

THE PHILIPPINE ISLAND ARC SYSTEM

The territory of the Philippines is composed of many island arcs formed by several incidents of subduction. The island arcs are
collectively called Philippines island arc system. Each major Philippine island had a complex natural history.
With the exception of Palawan, Mindoro and Romblon, most of the Philippine islands are considered to have been parts of
island arcs formed at the southern edge of the Philippine Sea plate millions of years ago.
As part of the Philippine Sea plate, the islands moved northward as the plate rotated clockwise. These roving islands, known
as the Philippine Mobile Belt, eventually collided with the Sundaland. The collision resulted, among others, in a series of subductions
around Philippine archipelago.
On the western border, are the subductions along trenches of Manila, Negros, Sulu and Celebes where the plates of the South
China Sea, Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea are subducting beneath the Philippine Sea plate. These eastward subductions resulted in the
emergence of the island arcs of Luzon, Negros, Sulu-Zamboanga and Cotabato.
On the eastern frontier, are the subductions along East Luzon trough and Philippine trench. These westward subductions
resulted in the formations of the eastern island arcs of Northern Sierra Madre, Southern Sierra Madre-Polillo-Catanduanes and the East
Philippine arc. In time, some of these arcs merged together forming big islands like Luzon and Mindanao.
The Luzon arc is a complex belt of volcanoes extending from the Coastal Range of southeastern Taiwan through the volcanic
islands north of Luzon, the Luzon Central Cordillera, and the Western Luzon arc, ending at Marinduque Island. The arc has been active
since the Oligocene period to the present.

PLATE TECTONICS
(The Converging of Two Continental Plates)

What happens when two continental plates collide? ... Instead, a

collision between two continental plates crunches and folds the rock
at the boundary, lifting it up and leading to the formation of mountains
and mountain ranges.
When two plates with continental lithosphere collide,
subduction ceases and a mountain range is formed by squeezing
together and uplifting the continental crust on both plates.

The Formation of Himalayas:

About 40 to 50 million year ago, two large land masses, India and
Eurasia, collided to begin the formation of the most visible product of plate
tectonics, the Himalayas. Since subduction is impossible between two colliding
continental plates, pressure is released by pushing the crusts upward and forming the Himalayas peaks.

TASK 2. CONCEPT MAP. Complete the concept map of Convergent Plate Boundary

REFLECTION:
Complete the statement below:
I have learned that ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY
TASK 1:
1.The oceanic plate bends downward because it is denser than the continental plate
2. The leading edge of the oceanic plate will start to melt because the temperature beneath the crust (mantle) is higher
3. Earthquake could take place as the plate continue to grind against each other
TASK 2
1. Oceanic-Continental Convergent Boundary 6. Trenches
2. Continental-Continental 7. Earthquakes
3. Collision of two oceanic crust 8. Tsunamis
4. Collision of two continental crust 9. Volcanic Island
5. Volcanoes 10. Trenches