Download Sea-Floor Spreading and Plate Tectonics Project

Name:_________________________________
Science – Sea Floor Spreading and Plate Tectonics
[email protected]
You have already peeled back the layers of the Earth to help investigate the wonders thousands of kilometers
beneath our feet. It is now time to examine the movement that occurs beneath the crust that causes the plates of
the Earth to move (and hopefully we can better understand the types of evidence that supports seafloor
spreading).
To help us better understand what is going on everyday on this moving surface of the Earth, no matter how slow
it is happening, we can ask several questions:
❏ Where does sea-floor spreading occur? Make sure to mention the plate boundary and also list an
example of a sea-floor spreading center.
❏ What exactly is happening to the crust at these “spreading centers?”
❏ What type of crust is formed at the spreading centers?
Wait a minute… how can we discuss all the aforementioned seafloor spreading-ness if the most obvious
question still remains:
❏ What are the pieces of evidence that support that sea-floor spreading is even happening in the first place
(yes, this is where that wonderful understanding of Earth’s magnetic polarity comes in handy)?
❏ Why does our Earth have a magnetic field?
The opposite of sea floor spreading is, of course, where crust is being destroyed.
❏ Where does this occur?
❏ What are the deepest parts of the ocean?
❏ Why does the oceanic crust get pulled back down into the mantle (density has a big part in this
explanation)?
This project is the introduction to topic of Plate Tectonics… there is a lot more going on with our Earth’s crust
and there is a lot of information to discuss regarding those broken pieces of the crust. Some of the crust is
getting subducted – while other parts of it are being created at those delightful mid-ocean ridges.
Since this is an introduction to plate tectonics please make sure that you also are able to answer the following
questions:
❏ What are plates?
❏ What are plate boundaries?
❏ What types of plate boundaries are there? Be specific about the different types – i.e. oceanic-oceanic,
continental-oceanic, etc.
❏ What is happening at each type of plate boundary?
❏ What features do you find at these different boundaries?
❏ Where in the USA is a plate boundary?
❏ Explanation of ESRT page 5 would be a great addition, to your Part 2 of the project, to help other
students better understand how to identify the various plates and their boundaries throughout the globe.
Your project will be completed in 2 parts… (the first part (and only the first part) is due on Monday – you will
need to read through and answer the questions posed on this sheet on a separate piece of paper).
Part 1
The first part is to answer all of the questions in the above description, but only in word format. You should
write the questions and your answers on a separate piece of paper.
Part 2
The second part is to demonstrate your understanding of the topic. Your project will answer all the previous
questions in a visual and technological way (with brief descriptions too about what is going on at the key
locations). This part may be done as one of the following:
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Powerpoint format (or a comparable format that allows you to have visuals AND your voice), but it
must be narrated with your voice in the powerpoint file (your grade will be affected if you do not
include your voice within the presentation)
A movie (using Windows movie maker or iMovie – or some equivalent program)
An animated story telling done on the computer
Earth Science is a very visual topic – that is to say that visuals are a very important part of helping us better
understand the information – so you will be making the visual that explains the current topic so that we can
better understand it.
Part I
Due: Tuesday 3/28/17
Part II
Due : Wednesday 4/5/17
The following is a diagram that shows the process of sea floor spreading… these pictures are visuals for you to
better understand what is happening to our Earth’s crust. You may use these pictures in your project to help
explain the continuing process that recycles our oceanic crust. The first picture is a very simple one that gets
some basic points across about the sea floor. The second picture identifies a few more important features and
processes that are occurring at these boundaries.