Download Play-Doh Plates

Play-Doh Plates
Original Source: Dr. Leslie Sautter (Dept. of Geology, College of Charleston)
Grade Level:
SC Standards:
National Standards:
8th Grade
IIIB1c,d,g; IIIB3j,k; IIIB4a,b
Earth and Space Science Content Standard D:
Focus Questions
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Prior to this activity, students should have
studied lithospheric plates (Figure 1), including:
 the basic structure of the lithosphere
(oceanic crust, continental crust, upper
mantle)
 what comprises a plate (lithosphere = crust
+ upper mantle)
 how oceanic and continental crust are
spatially related to one another (they are
next to each other, NOT layered on top of
each other)
How are lithospheric plates structured?
What are the interactions between plates at
convergent plate boundaries?
Objectives
Students will:
 demonstrate their understanding of
lithospheric plates.
 model convergent plate boundaries.
Key Words
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Students should also have studied the different
forms of convergent plate boundaries:
 oceanic-oceanic (Figure 2)
 oceanic-continental (Figure 3)
 continental-continental (Figure 4)
plate, lithospheric plate
lithosphere
cross-section
upper mantle
oceanic crust, continental crust
convergent boundary
For each type of convergent boundary, they
should have studied:
 the types of seafloor and/or continental
features produced
 where the earthquakes would be located
(shallow vs. deep focus earthquakes)
 what types of rocks are involved and formed
(optional).
Materials
Per student group:
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3 different colors of Play-Doh or similar
type of modeling clay, salt-ceramic, etc.,
approximately ½ jar per color.
(Each group must have the same 3 colors.)
3 color pencils (same colors at Play-Doh)
1 square piece of cardboard, ~ 8” x 8”
Time Frame
One to 50-minute class period for each part.
Teacher Preparation
This activity is useful as an assessment of
students’ understanding of the structure of the
lithosphere and lithospheric plates (Part I). For
higher level students, understanding of plate
boundary interactions may also be evaluated
(Part II).
Suggested Learning Environment
Collaborative groups of 3-4 students. Multiple
groups may each do the activity simultaneously,
and then compare models.
Relevant pages in Of Sand and Sea
Chapter I, The Ocean Planet, p. 7-12.
COASTeam Program, Project Oceanica, College of Charleston
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Play-Doh Plates
TEACHER PAGES
Procedure
3. Name your plate and write a brief description
of your plate. You may also name the continent
and ocean(s) that are included.
The steps that follow are included in the STUDENT
PAGES. Additional information on the TEACHER
PAGES is included in blue italics.
4. Draw a map of your plate, using the same scale
as your model (the same dimensions as the
cardboard, 8”x8”). Label any geographic or
geologic features that you’ve created and
described in your written summary.
Part I
Each student group will receive about ½ jar of each
Play-Doh color. Your teacher will designate which
color represents the upper mantle, which color
represents the oceanic crust, and which color
represents the continental crust.
 The darkest color should be the mantle, and the
5. Draw a light line on your map from one side of
the map to the other, anywhere that the line
would cross both the continent and the ocean.
Label this line as A-A’ (one end of the line is A
and the other end is A’).
lightest color should be the continental crust.
1.
Make a key in your science notebook of the
Play-Doh colors and what each represents.
a. What type of rock is found in each of these
layers?
 Continental crust is composed primarily of
6. Imagine that you could cut straight into your
model along the A-A’ line and view the cut
surface from the side. This view is called a
cross-section. Draw a diagram of what you
think you’d find if you could view the crosssection along line A-A’. Label all the layers and
color the map using the key you developed in
step 1.
 Use the following guidelines to determine if the
felsic (silica-rich) igneous rocks called
granite.
 Oceanic crust is composed of mafic (iron
and magnesium-rich) igneous rocks called
basalt (near the surface) and gabbro (near
the base).
 The upper mantle is composed of ultramafic (very iron and magnesium-rich)
igneous rock, called peridotite.
plate models are “correct.”
 The upper mantle should be on the bottom
of the entire plate.
 The shape of the upper mantle = the shape
of the plate.
 The upper mantle should not be exposed on
the surface. It is always overlain either by
oceanic crust or continental crust.
 The continental crust should be much
thicker than the oceanic crust. It may have
varying thickness.
 The oceanic crust should be thin, with little
variation in thickness. If seamounts are
included, they should be very small.
 The continental crust should be located
next to (adjacent to) the oceanic crust. The
2 types of crust may not be layered one on
top of the other – they should be side-byside.
2. Construct a model of a single lithospheric plate
on top of the square of cardboard. You must
include all three types of rock/colors of PlayDoh. For simplicity, include only 1 continent.
 Encourage students to make a simple model with
one continent. The more complex, the more
description they will have to do as the activity
progresses!
 Be sure to check students’ progress, but do not
correct them, as this is an assessment of their
learning. Answer questions sparingly,
encouraging them to “confer with their
colleagues”. Do not provide students with
Figures 1-4.
COASTeam Program, Project Oceanica, College of Charleston
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Play-Doh Plates
TEACHER PAGES
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Continental crust may be situated in the
middle of the plate, or along the edge of
the plate (or both).
Figures 2, 3, and 4 for guidance on the
seafloor and continental features that
should be described for each type of
convergent plate boundary. Additional
information is below.
 See Figure 1: a generalized cross-section of a
plate.
b. Describe what will happen during the
convergence.
 Again, student responses will vary.
Part II
 This activity may be added to Part I when
more than one group has constructed a
model and the models have been checked by
the teacher.
1.
c.
 Refer to Figures 2 and 3.
Pair up with another group and exchange your
models, maps and written summaries. Examine
the other group’s model. When both groups are
ready, each group should describe the model of
the other group.
d. Describe any new continental features that
will be produced, and where they will occur.
 Refer to Figures 3 and 4.
e.
 Clarify any confusion between model
interpretations.
melting of hot, hydrated rocks produces a
mafic-composition magma, producing a
basalt when it extrudes during volcanic
eruptions.
 For oc-cont, the magma produced from the
melting of hot, hydrated rocks produces a
mafic-composition magma. But the pieces of
the granite (felsic)-composition continental
crust fall into the rising magma as the
magma rises, producing an intermediatecomposition magma that produces andesite
when it extrudes during volcanic eruptions.
 For cont-cont, there is little new rock
formed, however old rocks are
metamorphosed from the collision’s
pressure.
3. Orient the two group models so that the two
Convergent Boundaries are facing each other.
Do not physically converge the models.
4. Predict what will happen if the two plates
collide, or converge. In your notebook, write
the answers to the questions below.
 The following abbreviations will be used for the
three different types of convergent plate
boundaries:
oc-oc
oceanic-oceanic convergence
oc-cont
oceanic-continental convergence
cont-cont continental-continental convergence
a.
Describe any new rock that will be
produced, and where it will occur.
 For oc-oc the magma produced from the
2. Each group should select one of the edges of
the group’s own plate model. This will be
referred to as the Convergent Boundary of the
model.
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Describe any new seafloor features that will
be produced, and where they will occur.
f.
What type or types of convergent plate
boundary(ies) will occur? (Remember that if
you have oceanic crust AND continental
crust along one edge of a plate, that each
will converge differently.)
Will earthquakes occur? If so, where will
they originate?
 Yes – there are many earthquakes
associated with convergent plate
boundaries. For oc-oc and oc-cont, the
earthquakes will originate all along the
subducting plate. These will be shallow,
intermediate and deep-focus earthquakes.
 Student responses will vary, depending on
the plate boundary interactions. Refer to
COASTeam Program, Project Oceanica, College of Charleston
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Play-Doh Plates
TEACHER PAGES
For cont-cont, the earthquakes will occur
within the folded/faulted mountain chain
being built from the collision. They are
mostly shallow-focus earthquakes.
Assessment
For this activity, there are no specific
assessment questions. Use the students’ PlayDoh models, maps, answers to questions from
Step 4a-f, and cross-sections of the resulting
convergent plate boundary to assess student
understanding of convergent plate interactions.
5. Using the two Play-Doh plate models, carefully
construct a new model of the resulting
convergent plate boundary. Construct any
seafloor or continental features generated by
the type of convergence illustrated by the
model.
6. Draw a map of your two-plate convergent
boundary model. Label the surface features.
7. Draw a cross-sectional view along a line B-B’
that crosses the plate boundary (perpendicular
to the plate boundary).
 Again, Figures 2, 3, and 4 illustrate the
features that should be included for each of
the types of convergent plate boundaries.
.
Source: Dr. Leslie Sautter, Project Oceanica, Dept. of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, College of Charleston, SC.
website: http://oceanica.cofc.edu email: [email protected] phone: 843-953-5586
Funding for the COASTeam Program was provided by the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. http://oceanica.cofc.edu/coasteam/
COASTeam Program, Project Oceanica, College of Charleston
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Play-Doh Plates
TEACHER PAGES
Figure 1. Cross-section diagram of the lithosphere.
(Figure from Of Sand and Sea, by P. Keener-Chavis and L. Sautter)
Figure 2. Cross-section diagram of an oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundary.
(Figure from Of Sand and Sea, by P. Keener-Chavis and L. Sautter)
COASTeam Program, Project Oceanica, College of Charleston
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Play-Doh Plates
TEACHER PAGES
Figure 3. Cross-section diagram of an oceanic-continental convergent plate boundary.
(Figure from Of Sand and Sea, by P. Keener-Chavis and L. Sautter)
Figure 4. Cross-section diagram of an continental-continental convergent plate boundary.
(Figure from Of Sand and Sea, by P. Keener-Chavis and L. Sautter)
COASTeam Program, Project Oceanica, College of Charleston
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