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Plate Tectonics Ws

There are three types of plate boundaries where the Earth's tectonic plates meet and interact: divergent boundaries where plates spread apart and new crust is formed, convergent boundaries where plates collide and one plate subducts under the other, and transform boundaries where plates slide past each other. Most volcanic and earthquake activity occurs at plate boundaries as the vast plates shift and grind against each other. Over time, the recycling of ocean crust through subduction means new crust is continually generated at mid-ocean ridges and old crust is destroyed and melted back into the mantle.

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Mariana Lopez
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228 views

Plate Tectonics Ws

There are three types of plate boundaries where the Earth's tectonic plates meet and interact: divergent boundaries where plates spread apart and new crust is formed, convergent boundaries where plates collide and one plate subducts under the other, and transform boundaries where plates slide past each other. Most volcanic and earthquake activity occurs at plate boundaries as the vast plates shift and grind against each other. Over time, the recycling of ocean crust through subduction means new crust is continually generated at mid-ocean ridges and old crust is destroyed and melted back into the mantle.

Uploaded by

Mariana Lopez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name______________________________________________Date____________________________Block_____

Plate Tectonics
One of the major questions with the Theory of
Continental Drift is how does it work? We live on a  Type II Ocean – Continental: when ocean
dynamic Earth, in which about twenty 60-mile thick crust subducts under continental crust
lithosphere plates move about on the fluid upper forming mountain chains and volcanic
mantle. The plates jostle with each other, some hit activity
each other head on, some go under one another, and
some just slide by each other. Most of the volcanoes
and earthquakes on Earth happen where these plates
meet.

Plate tectonics emphasizes that new ocean crust is


produced at the midocean ridges. This new crust
begins to spread to either side of the ridge. As it
spreads, it dives under another plate and is subducted
back into the upper mantle. At some geologic time in
the future, the recycled crust appears again at a mid-
ocean ridge.
There are three types of plate interaction
 Divergent Plate Boundaries
 Convergent Plate Boundaries  Type III Continental – Continental: when
 Transform Plate Boundaries two continental plates meet and buckle up
Divergent Plate Boundaries are where plates are forming large mountains.
moving away from each other. This movement is
found along the midocean ridges where new crust
material is being created.

Transform Plate Boundaries are when plates move


side by side with each other resulting in frequent
Convergent Plate Boundaries are where one plate earthquakes.
dives (subducts) under less dense crust to be recycled
back into the asthenosphere. There are three types of
convergent plate boundaries:
 Type I Ocean – Ocean: when the ocean crust
of two plates meet usually forming island
arcs
Fig. 1: Global Lithospheric Plates’ Relative Motion and Speed
Data Analysis
1. Look at Fig 1: Global
Lithospheric Plates’
Relative Motion.

2. Determine what type


of plate boundary
exists between each
of the 2 plates in
Table 1.

Plate Boundary Boundary Type


North American plate & the Pacific Plate near California
Nazca Plate & the South American Plate
South American Plate & the African Plate
Pacific Plate & the Nazca Plate
Juan DeFuca Plate & the Pacific Plate
Juan DeFuca Plate & the North American Plate
Australian Plate & the Eurasian Plate
North American Plate & the African Plate
Pacific Plate & the Philippine Plate
Indian Plate & the Eurasian Plate
Questions
1. Explain why the term recycling is an excellent description of plate tectonics.
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2. Explain how tectonic plate movement could create another supercontinent like Pangaea.
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3. If the Earth’s core provides the heat that drives plate tectonics, then what will eventually happen as the
Earth’s core cools down over billions of years?
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4. What are the various ways in which lithospheric plates interact with each other as they move around on a
dynamic (meaning moving) Earth?
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