Download Plate Tectonics Discussion Questions: and Answers Are there

Plate Tectonics Discussion Questions: and Answers
1. Are there subduction zones in the Pacific Ocean?
Yes
2. Is the Pacific Ocean getter bigger, smaller or staying the same size? Explain.
Getting smaller,
Although there is a seafloor spreading center (The East Pacific Rise) where new oceanic crust
forms, there is more oceanic crust being subducted due to the large number of subduction
zones.
3. Are there subduction zones in the Atlantic Ocean?
Essentially No
4. Is the Atlantic Ocean getting bigger, smaller or staying the same size? Explain. Getting larger.
Sea floow forms at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the continents continue to drift out from this
area.
5. Where are the nearest plate boundaries to Long Island? The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (a divergent
plate boundary) and the coast of California including the San Andreas Fault (a transform plate
boundary)
6. a)Find a place where a spreading center or divergent plate boundary is NOT in an ocean?
The Red Sea or East African Rift Valley
b)What will be found at this place (from part a) 10 million years from now?
An ocean as new oceanic crust forms and spreads out, salt water will eventually fill in and the
area will be large enough to be called an ocean
7. On the map on the reverse side of this paper, sketch where you think the continents will be
located in 50 million years. See Fig 2.24 from lecture notes and text