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Plate Tectonics
7th Grade Science
Lesson 1
 Earthquake- vibrations in the earth caused by
sudden release of energy, as a result of the
movement of rocks along a fault
 Seismologist- scientist who studies earthquakes
Lesson 2
 Earthquake Waves
 P-Wave: primary wave, first and compressional
(back and forth)
 S-Wave: secondary, second and moves at right
angles, much rougher
 Surface Waves: Elliptical and back and forth on
surface of earth, most destructive
Lesson 3
 Seismogram- paper that records earthquake
 Seismograph- device that measures an earthquake’s
intensity
 Epicenter – imaginary point on earth that sits on top of
the focus
 Focus – where the earthquake begins inside the earth
Earthquake Diagram
Lesson 4
 Plate Boundary-pieces of broken lithosphere meet, 3 types
Convergent (collide), Divergent (divide) and transform (slide)
 Ring of Fire-encircles the Pacific Ocean, an area of volcanic
and earthquake activity
 Magnitude- measure of total amount of energy released in an
earthquake, each interval 32 times more energy is released
 Intensity- measure of damage done during an earthquake
Lessons 1-4 Challenge
Words
 Liquefaction: strength and stiffness of soil is
reduced by earthquake shaking, occurs in saturated
soils and allows soil particles to move (think of
liquid vs. solid)
 Lithosphere: crust and uppermost mantle, where
earthquakes occur
 Subduction Zone: 2 lithospheric plates come
together
Lesson 5 – Use your apple
diagram for the parts of the earth
 Parts of the Earth (inside to outside)-think of an apple
 Inner Core/like the seeds of an apple
 Outer Core/pocket that holds the seeds
 Mantle/meaty part of the apple-what you eat
 Asthenosphere/in upp. Mantle, layer that allows the
lithosphere or our plates to move
 Lithosphere/bite out of the apple-upp.mantle/crust or a
plate
 Crust/skin of the apple
Lesson 6
 Lithosphere: Cool, solid outer shell of earth which is
made of Crust and Upper Mantle and makes up our
plates
 Asthenosphere: layer of mantle directly below the
lithosphere and allows the lithosphere to move.
 Mid-Ocean Ridge: A mountainlike landform that
develops when plates separate and new ocean
lithosphere forms
 Subduction: The movement of a tectonic plate beneath
another plate Ex. Oceanic lithosphere is more dense
and subducts beneath the Continental lithosphere
Lesson 7
 Brittle: describes objects that break easily when force is
applied to them
 Ductile: describes objects that bend, stretch, or flow
when a force is applied to them
 Fault: a fracture in bedrock, along which blocks of rock
on opposite sides of the fracture move Ex. San Andreas
Fault, California
 Plate Tectonics: Theory that lithosphere is broken into
segments/plates that float on the asthenosphere and is
associated with earthquakes, and volcanic activity.
Lesson 8
 Convection in the Mantle: the heat from our core
travels to the Mantle and rises since it is less dense
than the cooler material at the top of the mantle.
The cooler material is more dense so it sinks. This
cycle repeats itself and is known as a convection
current. (Think of our Boiling pot of water or our
Convection experiment with the bottle and candle. )
This process drives our plate movement.
Plate Boundaries, Pangaea,
and the Pacific Ring of Fire
 Plate Boundaries Map – shows us the separation between
plates and where earthquakes and volcanic activity might
occur
 Divergent – divide or pull apart, ex. Mid Atlantic Ridge
 Convergent – collide and form mountains, ex. Himalayas
 Transform– slide next to one another, ex. San Andreas fault
 Pangaea – when all the continents were connected over 250
million years ago, evidence rock, fossil and climate clues
 Pacific Ring of Fire – area that encircles the Pacific Ocean and
is home to most earthquake and volcanic activity
Lessons 9 – 12 (Our destructive
and constructive Volcanoes)
 Volcano – a mountain with a crater or vent in which
molten material, gas, and ash can escape
 Types of:
 Shield: has gently sloping sides and gentler eruptions
ex. Mt. Kilauea, Hawaii
 Cinder-cone: Steep mountain with large cone like crater
at the time, can have great eruptions ex. Paricutin in
Mexico
 Composite or Stratovolcano: Made of alternating layers
of lava or ash, can have major eruptions, Ex. Mt.
Pinatubo in the Philippines
Volcano types
Cinder-cone
Shield Volcano
Composite or Stratovolcano
More Vocabulary
 Volcanic Ash/tephra: Trapped gases from a
volcano emit these tiny fragments of volcanic
remains/glass into the atmosphere
 Magma: Molten material beneath the earth’s
surface
 Lava: Molten material on the earth’s surface
 Hot Ash Cloud: the pressure released during a
volcanic eruption can produce these clouds due to
density differences between ash and air and
convection
Instruments used to study
Volcanoes
 Seismograph
 Gas Sensors
 Tiltmeter