Week 4

Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes

Last week we learned about the origins and construction of Earth. This week we will learn more about its structure and how it works as a whole.

Day 1

The bottom of the lithosphere is like the inside of this candle. Sometimes melted and sometimes not.

Look at either of these simulations which ultimately show how continental and oceanic crust interact to make new land forms.

Try this simulation to see how plate tectonics creates land and ocean terrain by making your own plates and determining how they move.

Basalt

(Oceanic Crust)

Granite

(Continental Crust)

Review some of these concepts.

This PhET plate simulation requires a Windows computer and Java (demonstrated in class).

Or use this simulator if the one above doesn't work for you.

Complete the plate tectonics simulation activity called "Classwork - Plate Tectonics" in Google Classroom

Find more information about seismic waves and the Earth here.

Seismic evidence for the structure of the Earth.

Complete the Seismic Waves lab in Google Classroom.

Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes Study Guide

What causes the plates to move?
What kinds of crust are there?
What is the lithosphere?
Be able to predict what happens when two plates are pushed toward each other.
What types of plate boundaries are there, how do they interact, and what are they associated with; mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, subduction, sea floor spreading, rift zones etc.
Why do earthquakes happen?
What is the difference between a P and S seismic wave. How are they affected by the layers of the earth? Why don't S waves travel through air and water.
What do shadow zones tell us about the Earth's interior?
Be able to predict the direction and amount of refraction based on the density and state of the materials it is traveling through.

Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes Quiz in Google Classroom