Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
Plate Tectonics Web-Quest
Part I: Earth’s Structure. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/structure.html
1. Label the layers of Earth in the diagram below.
zone in the upper mantle, directly underneath the lithosphere. This is known as the
_____asthenosphere__________________.
Part II. Plate Tectonics. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/drift.html
A
B
1. True or False? Image A depicts what Earth looks like today. (circle the correct answer)
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
2. What did Earth look like 250 million years ago? The continents of Earth were clustered together in formation that a scientist named Alfred Wegener ______________. The scientist that named “Pangaea” was a German scientist by the name of ___Alfred Wegener _____ . He theorized that “Pangaea" split apart and the different landmasses, or continents, drifted to their current locations on the globe. Wegener’s theories of plate movement became the basis for the development of the theory of _____continental Drift_______ ________________.
3. Order the images of Earth’s plates in order from oldest or earliest (1) to most recent (5).
Part III. Plates and Boundaries. Use the following link to find these answers: http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/plate.html
1. Name the missing tectonic plates in the blanks on the image below.
African
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
C. If two plates are sliding past each other it is a called a ___divergent boundary_______________________.
Part I. Number of correctly placed plates = _________11_________________
Part II. Number of boundary types correctly labeled = __5________________
Part IV. Slip, Slide, and Collide. Use the following link to find these answers: http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/slip.html
Subduction Zones and Volcanoes
At some convergent boundaries, an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate. Oceanic crust tends to be _______denser_____ and _ than continental crust, so the denser oceanic crust gets bent and pulled under, or __sub ducted______________, beneath the lighter and thicker continental crust. This forms what is called a subduction zone. As the oceanic crust sinks, a deep oceanic _____trench_______, or valley, is formed at the edge of the continent. The crust continues to be forced deeper into the earth, where high heat and pressure cause trapped water and other gasses to be released from it. This, in turn, makes the base of the crust melt, forming ___Magma________. The magma formed at a subduction zone rises up toward the earth's surface and builds up in magma chambers, where it feeds and creates ____volcanoes____________ on the overriding plate. When this magma finds its way to
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
the surface through a vent in the crust, the volcano erupts, expelling and
An example of this is the band of active volcanoes that encircle the Pacific Ocean, often referred to as the Ring of Fire.
Roll your mouse over the image to find the definitions of the words below:
Subduction Zone – ___the area where one plate is being pulled under the edge of another____________________________________________________
Magma - _________molten rock, gases, and solid crystals and materials______________________________________________________
Trench - ________________________________a steep side depression in the ocean floor_______________________________
Volcano - ___________a vent in the earth’s surface through which magma and gases erupt___________________________________________________
Volcanic Arc - __________________an ark- shaped chain of volcanoes formed above a subduction zone_________________________________________
Fill in the type of crust converging in the image below.
A subduction zone is also generated when two oceanic plates collide — the older plate is forced under the _______new_______ one, and it leads to the formation of chains of volcanic islands known as ______island arcs______ ___________.
Collision Zones and Mountains
What happens when two continental plates collide? Because the rock making up continental plates is generally lighter and less dense than oceanic rock, it is too light to get pulled under the earth and turned into magma. 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________________ .
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
Fill in the type of crust converging in the image below.
Roll your mouse over the image to find the definitions of the words below:
Continental Crust - __the earths crust that makes up the continents___________________________________________________
Mountain - _____________large mass of earth and rock that rises above the earth’s surface with steep or sloping sides
When two _______________ plates diverge, a valley-like rift develops. This __________ is a dropped zone where the plates are pulling apart. As the crust widens and thins, valleys form in and around the area, as do _______________, which may become increasingly active. Early in the rift formation, streams and rivers flow into the low valleys and long, narrow lakes can be created. Eventually, the widening crust along the divergent boundary may become thin enough that a piece of the continent breaks off, forming a new tectonic plate.
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
in the earth's crust that is associated with this movement.
Transform boundaries and the resulting faults produce many __earthquake______________ because edges of tectonic plates are jagged rather than __smooth__________. As the plates grind past each other, the jagged edges strike each other, catch, and stick, "locking" the plates in place for a time. Because the plates are locked together without moving, a lot of
______stress______ builds up at the fault line. This stress is released in quick bursts when the plates suddenly slip into new positions. The sudden movement is what we feel as the shaking and trembling of an earthquake.
The motion of the plates at a transform boundary has given this type of fault another name, a _____, a strike-slip fault____________ ____________. The best-studied strike-slip fault is the San Andreas Fault in ___California____________.
4. Complete the Plate Interactions Challenge and Test Skills questions.
My score for Plate Interactions Challenge = ______7 out of 10____________________
My score for Test Skills questions = _______ out of 30 or ____ %____
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
Part V. Questions you should be able to answer now that you completed this webquest.
Note - you may go back to the website and review to assist in answering the following questions.
Convergent Boundary
(ocean – continental)
Convergent Boundary
(ocean – ocean)
Convergent Boundary (continental – continental)
1. Deep-ocean __subduction______________ and
______volcanoes _________ are created by convergent boundaries of ocean and continental crust.
2. Deep-ocean ___trenches______________ ,
_________Volcanoes_______, and ______earthquakes _______ are created by convergent boundaries of ocean and ocean crust.
3. ____Mountain ranges ____________________ are created by convergent boundaries of continental and continental crust.
4. Another type of boundary neither creates nor consumes crust. This type of boundary is called a
________Transform boundary because two plates move against each other, building up tension, then release the tension is a sudden jerk of land called an _____________fault_______.
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
4. Circle the correct type of boundary for each description below:
A. The boundary where two plates meet and trenches are formed.
Divergent
Convergent-
Transform
B. The plates move away from each other allowing magma to create new ocean crust.
Divergent-
Convergent
Transform
C. The plates move in opposite directions building up tension until they slip causing
earthquakes.
Divergent Convergent Transform-
5. Label each type of boundary as either: Divergent, Convergent, or Transform Boundary:
hh
hh
The end. Please take a minute and look over your web-quest to make sure you answered all questions and completed all tasks. Make sure your name is on the front and turn it in.
Plate Tectonics Web-Quest
Part I: Earth’s Structure. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/structure.html
1. Label the layers of Earth in the diagram below.
- The lithosphere is made up of the __crust______ and a tiny bit of the ___upper mantle______ ___________.
- The plates of the lithosphere move (or float) on this hot, malleable _____semiliquid _____ _________
zone in the upper mantle, directly underneath the lithosphere. This is known as the
_____asthenosphere__________________.
- The layer of Earth that is the only liquid layer is the ______outer core_____ ___________.
Part II. Plate Tectonics. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/drift.html
A
B
1. True or False? Image A depicts what Earth looks like today. (circle the correct answer)
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
2. What did Earth look like 250 million years ago? The continents of Earth were clustered together in formation that a scientist named Alfred Wegener ______________. The scientist that named “Pangaea” was a German scientist by the name of ___Alfred Wegener _____ . He theorized that “Pangaea" split apart and the different landmasses, or continents, drifted to their current locations on the globe. Wegener’s theories of plate movement became the basis for the development of the theory of _____continental Drift_______ ________________.
3. Order the images of Earth’s plates in order from oldest or earliest (1) to most recent (5).
Part III. Plates and Boundaries. Use the following link to find these answers: http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/plate.html
1. Name the missing tectonic plates in the blanks on the image below.
African
- The place where the two plates meet is called a ___boundary_________________. Boundaries have different names depending on how the two plates are moving in relationship to each other.
- If two plates are pushing towards each other it is called a __convergent boundary _____________________.
- If two plates are moving apart from each other it is called a _transform boundary _____________________.
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
C. If two plates are sliding past each other it is a called a ___divergent boundary_______________________.
- Label the type of boundary depicted in each image below.
- Plates and Boundaries Challenge. Follow directions for the challenge. Record your results below:
Part I. Number of correctly placed plates = _________11_________________
Part II. Number of boundary types correctly labeled = __5________________
Part IV. Slip, Slide, and Collide. Use the following link to find these answers: http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/slip.html
- At convergent boundaries, tectonic plates ___collide________ with each other. The events that occur at these boundaries are linked to the types of plates (oceanic or __Continental_____________) that are interacting.
Subduction Zones and Volcanoes
At some convergent boundaries, an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate. Oceanic crust tends to be _______denser_____ and _ than continental crust, so the denser oceanic crust gets bent and pulled under, or __sub ducted______________, beneath the lighter and thicker continental crust. This forms what is called a subduction zone. As the oceanic crust sinks, a deep oceanic _____trench_______, or valley, is formed at the edge of the continent. The crust continues to be forced deeper into the earth, where high heat and pressure cause trapped water and other gasses to be released from it. This, in turn, makes the base of the crust melt, forming ___Magma________. The magma formed at a subduction zone rises up toward the earth's surface and builds up in magma chambers, where it feeds and creates ____volcanoes____________ on the overriding plate. When this magma finds its way to
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
the surface through a vent in the crust, the volcano erupts, expelling and
An example of this is the band of active volcanoes that encircle the Pacific Ocean, often referred to as the Ring of Fire.
Roll your mouse over the image to find the definitions of the words below:
Subduction Zone – ___the area where one plate is being pulled under the edge of another____________________________________________________
Magma - _________molten rock, gases, and solid crystals and materials______________________________________________________
Trench - ________________________________a steep side depression in the ocean floor_______________________________
Volcano - ___________a vent in the earth’s surface through which magma and gases erupt___________________________________________________
Volcanic Arc - __________________an ark- shaped chain of volcanoes formed above a subduction zone_________________________________________
Fill in the type of crust converging in the image below.
A subduction zone is also generated when two oceanic plates collide — the older plate is forced under the _______new_______ one, and it leads to the formation of chains of volcanic islands known as ______island arcs______ ___________.
Collision Zones and Mountains
What happens when two continental plates collide? Because the rock making up continental plates is generally lighter and less dense than oceanic rock, it is too light to get pulled under the earth and turned into magma. 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________________ .
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
Fill in the type of crust converging in the image below.
Roll your mouse over the image to find the definitions of the words below:
Continental Crust - __the earths crust that makes up the continents___________________________________________________
Mountain - _____________large mass of earth and rock that rises above the earth’s surface with steep or sloping sides
- At divergent boundaries, tectonic plates are moving __away________ from each other. One result of huge masses of crust moving apart is _____seafloor_________ spreading. This occurs when two plates made of oceanic crust pull apart. A crack in the ocean floor appears and then magma oozes up from the mantle to fill in the space between the plates, forming a raised ridge called a ____mid ocean ridge.___________ ___________. The magma also spreads outward, forming _ ocean floor and ___oceanic crust.
When two _______________ plates diverge, a valley-like rift develops. This __________ is a dropped zone where the plates are pulling apart. As the crust widens and thins, valleys form in and around the area, as do _______________, which may become increasingly active. Early in the rift formation, streams and rivers flow into the low valleys and long, narrow lakes can be created. Eventually, the widening crust along the divergent boundary may become thin enough that a piece of the continent breaks off, forming a new tectonic plate.
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
- At transform boundaries, tectonic plates are not moving directly toward or directly away from each other. Instead, two tectonic plates _are not__________ past each other in a horizontal direction. This kind of boundary results in a ___fault______. A fault is a crack or _____fracture______
in the earth's crust that is associated with this movement.
Transform boundaries and the resulting faults produce many __earthquake______________ because edges of tectonic plates are jagged rather than __smooth__________. As the plates grind past each other, the jagged edges strike each other, catch, and stick, "locking" the plates in place for a time. Because the plates are locked together without moving, a lot of
______stress______ builds up at the fault line. This stress is released in quick bursts when the plates suddenly slip into new positions. The sudden movement is what we feel as the shaking and trembling of an earthquake.
The motion of the plates at a transform boundary has given this type of fault another name, a _____, a strike-slip fault____________ ____________. The best-studied strike-slip fault is the San Andreas Fault in ___California____________.
4. Complete the Plate Interactions Challenge and Test Skills questions.
My score for Plate Interactions Challenge = ______7 out of 10____________________
My score for Test Skills questions = _______ out of 30 or ____ %____
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
Part V. Questions you should be able to answer now that you completed this webquest.
Note - you may go back to the website and review to assist in answering the following questions.
Convergent Boundary
(ocean – continental)
Convergent Boundary
(ocean – ocean)
Convergent Boundary (continental – continental)
1. Deep-ocean __subduction______________ and
______volcanoes _________ are created by convergent boundaries of ocean and continental crust.
2. Deep-ocean ___trenches______________ ,
_________Volcanoes_______, and ______earthquakes _______ are created by convergent boundaries of ocean and ocean crust.
3. ____Mountain ranges ____________________ are created by convergent boundaries of continental and continental crust.
4. Another type of boundary neither creates nor consumes crust. This type of boundary is called a
________Transform boundary because two plates move against each other, building up tension, then release the tension is a sudden jerk of land called an _____________fault_______.
Name ________________________________ Date ___________ Period ____
4. Circle the correct type of boundary for each description below:
A. The boundary where two plates meet and trenches are formed.
Divergent
Convergent-
Transform
B. The plates move away from each other allowing magma to create new ocean crust.
Divergent-
Convergent
Transform
C. The plates move in opposite directions building up tension until they slip causing
earthquakes.
Divergent Convergent Transform-
5. Label each type of boundary as either: Divergent, Convergent, or Transform Boundary:
hh
- _________convergent___________________________
- ______________Transform_____________________
hh
- Divergent
The end. Please take a minute and look over your web-quest to make sure you answered all questions and completed all tasks. Make sure your name is on the front and turn it in.