Earth and Life Science 2.

Divergent boundaries - when two plates move away

from one other.
Topic: Tectonic Plates and aging of rocks
The new crustal material derived from molten lava that
Timeline: Week #5 develops below can also fill the gap produced. Within
continents, divergent borders can emerge, but they will
ultimately open up and create ocean basins.
A tectonic plate (also known as a lithospheric
plate) is a large slab of solid rock that is made up of both 1. On the ground. Rifts form when continents' borders
continental and oceanic lithosphere. The Pacific and diverge, and rift valleys form as a result.
Antarctic Plates are among the biggest, with diameters ii. At the bottom of the ocean. Between oceanic plates, the
ranging from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers. most active divergent plate boundaries are known as mid-
Plate thickness varies dramatically as well, ranging from oceanic ridges.
less than 15 kilometers for new oceanic lithosphere to
more than 200 kilometers for old continental lithosphere
(for example, the interior parts of North and South
America).To a depth of 2,900 kilometers, the Earth is 3. Transform boundaries - the points at which plates
solid rock, where the mantle meets the liquid outer core. move past one another.
The plates' relative motion is horizontal. They can happen
both underwater and on land, and they don't destroy or
produce crust.
The plates cannot easily slide past each other due to
friction. Instead, tension builds up in both plates, and
when it beyond the rock's threshold, the energy is
released, resulting in earthquakes.

Three types of Tectonic Plate

1. Convergent boundaries are formed when two plates
collide.
When one or both of the tectonic plates are made up of
oceanic crust, subduction zones form. The less dense plate
is subducted beneath the denser plate. The plate that is
pressed beneath the water is finally melted and destroyed.
i. The point where the oceanic crust joins the oceanic
crust. When both plates are made up of oceanic crust,
island arcs and oceanic trenches form. Back-arc basins are Formation of Rock Layers
dynamic seafloor spreading zones located behind the
island arc. Submarine volcanoes are frequently linked to Stratified rocks, also known as derivatives rock, maybe
them. fragmental or crystalline. These rocks are products of
sedimentary processes. These are made of visible layers
ii. Where the oceanic and continental crusts collide. of sediments. The formation on rock layers depends on its
Subduction of the denser oceanic plate results in the stratigraphy and stratification.
formation of a mountain range on the continent. This sort
of collision may be seen in the Andes. Stratification - It is also known as bedding, which is the
layering that happens in sedimentary and igneous rocks
iii. The point at which continental crust collides with formed at the surface of the Earth that comes from lava
continental crust. Due to the inability of both continental flows or other volcanic activity.
crusts to subduct, a continent-continent collision occurs,
resulting in particularly massive mountain ranges. The As early as the mid 1600’s, Danish scientist Nicholas
Himalayas are the most magnificent example of this. Steno studied the relative position of sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentary rocks are formed particle by particle, bed by Disconformity - It originates from horizontal
bed, and the layers are piled one on top of the other. These sedimentary rock layers that is lifted and the top layers
rock layers are also called strata. eroded. New sediments are deposited when they are
submerged beneath a freshwater or saltwater.
Non - conformity - It originates between
sedimentary rocks, metamorphic or igneous rock when
sedimentary rock lies above and was deposited on the
preexisting and eroded metamorphic or igneous rock.

Laws of stratigraphy
Correlation of Rock Layers
- are basic principles that all geologists use in decoding
or deciphering the spatial and temporal relationships The process of showing that rocks or geologic events
of rock layers. occurring at different locations are of the same age is
called correlation. Geologists have developed a system
1. Law of Superposition - The largest and heaviest rock for correlating rocks by looking for similarities in
layer that settled first at the bottom is the oldest rock layer. composition and rock layer sequences at different
The lightest and smallest that settled last is the youngest locations. The geological technique of correlation
rock layer. provides information that have taken in Earth’s history at
various time that occurred. There are different methods in
2. Law of Inclusions - A rock mass that contains pieces correlating rock layers, these includes:
of rocks called inclusions are younger than the other rock
masses 1. Rock types and its characteristics - color,
texture, hardness, composition or its mineral
3. Law of Cross Cutting Relationship - a fault or dike- content. The harder and more densely packed the
a slab rock cuts through another rock. When magma particles are, the older the rock and the deeper the
intrudes to the rock, that fault or magma is younger than layer it came from.
the rock 2. Rock types and its characteristics - color,
4. Law of Original Horizontality - sediments are texture, hardness, composition or its mineral
deposited in flat layers, if the rock maintains in horizontal content. The harder and more densely packed the
layers, it means it is not yet disturbed and still has its particles are, the older the rock and the deeper the
original horizontality layer it came from.
3. Bed rock - a deposit of solid rock that is typically
5. Law of Faunal Succession - different strata contain buried beneath soil and other broken or
particular assemblage of fossils by which rocks may be unconsolidated material (regolith). made up of
identified and correlated over long distances igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock, and
it often serves as the parent material for regolith
6. Law of Unconformities - rock layers that are formed
and soil.
without interruptions are conformable. Describes a layer
of rock that have been deformed or eroded before another
layer is deposited, resulting in rock layer mismatching

Three types of Unconformities

Angular unconformity - It originates from
horizontally parallel strata of sedimentary rock that are
deposited on tilted and eroded layers. It produced an
angular discordance with underlying horizontal layers.
Relative Age Activity 1

Prior to absolute age measurements, geologist used field Choose the letter of the best answer.
observations to determine the relative ages. They used 1. Movement plate boundaries results too many events or
simple principle in order to get the relative ages. The
following are the principles used by the geologists: land formations, which of the following is the reason of
The principle of original horizontality is based on the mountain formations.
observation that sediment usually accumulates in
horizontal layers. Tectonic forces tilted or folded rocks A. Converging Plates B. Diverging Plates
into an angle after it was formed. C. Both A and B D. Neither A
The principle of superposition states that sedimentary
rocks become younger from bottom to top. This is because
younger layers of the sedimentary always accumulates at 2. It is a region where plates meet.
the top of the layers.
A. Fault C. Mountain
The principle of crosscutting relationships is based on
C. Mountain D. Volcanic Arc
the fact that rocks must exist before anything else
happened like intrusions or dike cutting across rocks.
The principle of faunal succession states that species 3. There are three distinct types of plate boundaries, which
succeeded one another through time in a definite and of those types creates zone of tension by moving the plates
recognizable order and that the relative ages of apart?
sedimentary rocks can be therefore recognized from their
fossils. The absence or the presence may be used to give A. Convergent Boundary C. Divergent Boundary
a relative age of the sedimentary where they are found. B. Transform Fault D. None of these
The principle of lateral continuity explained that layers
of sediment are continuous. Layers with same rocks but
separated by a valley or erosion are initially continuous. 4. When two tectonic plates collide, the continental crust
usually rise up over the oceanic crust because it is______.

Absolute Age A. Denser than continental crust

The measurement of absolute age or exact date became a B. Thicker than continental crust
challenging task to the scientists. But they found a natural C. Thinner than continental crust
process that occurs at constant rate and accumulates its
record of the radioactive decay of elements in rocks. D. Less dense than oceanic crust
Radioactive elements decay because they are composed
of unstable isotopes that decompose spontaneously. Each
atom has a certain probability of decaying at any time. It 5. Which of the following diagrams shows the strike slip
has half-life or time for it to decompose into half. fault wherein San Andreas Fault which is bounded by
North American Plate and the Pacific Plate is the best
Radioactivity is not affected by geologic process and example?
easily measured in the laboratory. Aside from those,
daughter isotopes accumulate in rocks. The longer the
rock exists, the more daughter isotopes accumulate. The
process of determining the absolute ages of rocks and
minerals by measuring the relative amounts of parent and
daughter isotopes is called radioactive dating.
6. What is the relative position of oldest rock layer as
stated in the principle
of Superposition?
A. at top C. at the middle
B. at the bottom D. at random location
7. Which process is involved when sedimentary rocks are C. A relative date refers to a year or a range of years while
arranged in layer? an absolute date indicates a chronological order.
A. Deposition C. Sedimentation D. An absolute date involves testing of sedimentary rocks
while relative date involves testing of igneous rocks.
B. Foliation D. Stratification

13. In an undisturbed rock file, the youngest rock is

8. Why is there a need for correlation of rock layers? found______________.
A. It gives the relative age of the rocks. A. on the topmost C. upper part
B. Fossils embedded in the rock layers serve as a proof of B. at the bottom D. lower part
their correlation.
C. It provides information that the rock layers are
connected to each other long ago. 14. What method of rock dating is used in giving rocks an
actual date?
D. All of the above
A. Relative Dating C. Geological Dating
B. Absolute Dating D. Historical Dating
9. If an igneous rock A cross cuts sedimentary rock B,
what will be the relative age/position of igneous rock A?
A. Igneous rock A will be on top of rock B. 15. Which of the following makes use of the position of
rocks to determine its age?
B. Igneous rock A is older than sedimentary rock B.
A. Relative Dating C. Geological Dating
C. Igneous rock A is younger than sedimentary rock B.
B. Absolute Dating D. Historical Dating
D. Igneous rock A is at the same age with sedimentary
rock B.
Activity 2
10. Which of the following is NOT a type of Directions. Use the letters in the diagram below to
unconformity? determine the age of rocks applying the method of relative
dating. List the rock layers from youngest to the oldest
A. Angular C. Nonconformity
relative to age.
B. Disconformity D. Uniformity

11. Which was the first method used to determine ages of

rock and
fossils?
A. Relative Dating C. Radioactive Dating
B. Absolute Dating D. Radiometric Dating

1. In the law of superposition, which layer is the oldest?

12. What is the difference between an absolute date and a
relative date? 2. What is the relative age of igneous rock in layer H?
(Younger or older)
A. An absolute date refers to a year or a range of years
while a relative date indicates a chronological order. 3. What is the youngest rock layer?
B. A relative date is derived from radiometric dating 4. What law/principle is represented by layer H as it
techniques while an absolute date comes from guesswork. passes through layer M, F, B, and I?
5. Which rock layer is older, layer B or layer F?