Download The Puzzling Plates – Part I

The Puzzling Plates – Part I
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Procedure
Follow the steps below while taking notes in your science notebook.
1. On the table is a pile of cardboard puzzle pieces. Work with your
team to assemble the puzzle. The edges of the completed puzzle
will be straight.
2. Now, think back to the previous activity, “Introduction to the
Seafloor.” How do the shapes of these puzzle pieces relate to the
seafloor?
a. Identify the puzzle piece that represents the portion of the
Pacific Ocean that you traced previously on the ocean floor map.
Recall the seafloor features that nearly encircled the Pacific
Ocean (what are they?). Hold up the puzzle piece so your
teacher knows you are ready to continue.
3. Your teacher will now provide you with a seafloor map that is the
same size as the puzzle. Lay the map next to your puzzle.
a. Lay the puzzle piece you selected in number 2 on the appropriate
part of the seafloor map. How do you know where to place it?
Confer with your team- mates and agree on the location, using the
knowledge you gained from the previous activity.
4. Find and place on the map other puzzle pieces that lie completely
within the Pacific Ocean and contain no continents. Be sure you do
not include the puzzle pieces that would cover the continent of
Antarctica.
a. How many pieces are found in the Pacific? Describe the seafloor
and continental features that surround each of these plates.
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b. The Pacific Ocean should now be almost completely covered with
puzzle pieces. Relate the shapes of the pieces to the distribution
of earthquake epicenters observed in the “Quakes and Plates”
activity.
The largest puzzle piece you have placed on the map can now be
referred to as the
Pacific Plate.
(Note: Plate names will all be bulleted and in bold font so you will be able to review
them later.)
The cardboard piece, however, is only one layer of the plate. It
represents the uppermost portion of the earth’s mantle, called the
upper mantle.
Plates that do not include continents are called oceanic plates. The
Pacific Plate is the largest oceanic plate on Earth. The other Pacific
oceanic plates you have in the puzzle are adjacent to (border) the
Pacific Plate:
Philippine Plate (to the west)
Nazca Plate (to the southeast)
Cocos Plate (to the east)
Juan de Fuca Plate (the small plate to the northeast)
5. The Pacific Plate…
1) is an enormous oceanic plate,
2) nearly covers the entire ocean basin, and
3) lies completely within the ocean basin.
Move now to the Atlantic Ocean. Using the three criteria listed
above, can you now find an “Atlantic Plate”? If not, go to number 6.
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6. If you had difficulties finding a large oceanic plate that fits entirely
within the Atlantic Ocean basin, don’t worry. There is no Atlantic
Plate! (Sorry, but you needed to discover that for yourself. That’s
the only trick question, rest assured.)
Did you find any plates with no continent included? There are only
two small oceanic plates in the Atlantic:
Caribbean Plate (south of N. America)
Scotia Plate (southeast of S. America)
Locate them and place them on the map.
7. Since there is no Atlantic Plate, cover up the Atlantic Ocean with
the puzzle pieces (plates) that contribute to its seafloor. Because
each of these plates has significant areas covered by continents, we
refer to them as continental plates.
Again, omit the Antarctic Plate (the reason why will soon be
explained).
Note: Remember that the earth is a sphere, so puzzle pieces may
continue to the other side of the puzzle.
a. These plates are named for the continents included on them.
With your group, be sure to identify each of the following:
North American Plate
Eurasian Plate
African Plate
South American Plate.
b. What seafloor feature is related to the four major pieces that
cover the Atlantic Ocean?
8. Move now to the Indian Ocean. Place the puzzle pieces (plates) that
comprise the Indian Ocean. Once again, omit Antarctica. One piece
includes India, and also stretches eastward to include Australia.
This plate has several names and most geologists agree that it is
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currently breaking apart into two plates. Here we will simply refer
to it as the
Australian Plate.
9. The oceans on your map should almost be covered except for the
southern portions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
Finally, you may add Antarctica to the map! This continental plate is
called the
Antarctic Plate.
This plate was saved until the end because it only appears to be an
enormous plate. Because you are looking at a 2-dimensional map view
of a 3-dimensional planet, the polar regions are grossly exaggerated.
a. Examine the classroom globe to see approximately how large the
Antarctic Plate is relative to the Pacific Plate.
This plate is mostly continental (not all of the continent is shown
on the puzzle) and it is surrounded by a ridge that connects the
three oceans.
10.
There should be only one small continental piece remaining, the
Arabian Plate.
Place this piece on the map to complete the puzzle! How many plates
do you have?
The plates included in this puzzle are only the larger of Earth’s plates.
There are several minor plates that are too small to illustrate using
this model. These 14 plates (or 15 if you break apart the IndoAustralian Plate) are considered to be the major plates of the Earth.
Many of these major plates include much smaller “micro-plates.”
11. On a sheet of paper, make a table (or chart) that lists the four
major ocean basins, and the oceanic plates and continental plates
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that are part of each. If a plate contributes to more than one ocean
basin, be sure to include it wherever is necessary.
The layer of Earth that you have assembled is the upper mantle
portion of the lithosphere. The lithosphere is comprised of the upper
mantle and the overlying crust. All of the lithosphere is relatively cold
rock, as compared to the deeper mantle and core.
So, now you have a map of the earth’s upper mantle. The earth’s
surface layer is still missing – the crust. Your teacher will now provide
you with the crust layer puzzle pieces. The crust is represented by cut
pieces of another copy of the same map you used earlier (which is now
under your puzzle!).
12. Place all the crust pieces in their appropriate locations on the
puzzle to complete the lithosphere. Each lithospheric plate
(another term for plate) is now accurately made of upper mantle
(cardboard layer) and crust (top map layer).
Remember that a plate is comprised of the crust and upper mantle.
A plate is a broken piece of the lithosphere.
Lithosphere = Crust + Upper Mantle
13. Using your previous observations from steps 2-12, write the name
of each plate on a label (or Post-It Note) and affix it to the
appropriate plate. If a plate extends to the east-west edges of the
puzzle and map, remember to label the plate piece on the other side
of the world!
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14. Explore the various plates individually by removing them (both
crust and mantle) one by one from the puzzle and examining the
seafloor features along the plate’s edges.
a. Make a table (or chart) that lists all of the seafloor features
found along the edges of the following five plates:
Pacific Plate
Nazca Plate
South American Plate
African Plate
Indo-Australian Plate
Summarize your observations and discoveries by answering the
questions on the next page.
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Questions
Use your observations of the Earth’s lithospheric plates and their
relationship to seafloor features to answer the following questions.
Your teacher will provide information of how to format your
answers.
1) What are the layers included in the lithosphere? What is a
lithospheric plate?
2) Explain what is meant by the terms oceanic plate and continental
plate.
3) In terms of the types of plates found (oceanic plate vs.
continental plate); compare the Pacific Ocean basin and the
Atlantic Ocean basin.
4) Is the Indian Ocean basin more like the Pacific Ocean basin or
the Atlantic Ocean basin? Justify your answer, using your
answer to the previous question.
5) What is the dominant type of seafloor feature associated with
the plates that are included in the Atlantic Ocean basin? What
type of plate (oceanic or continental) is found along this
seafloor feature? List the four major plates.
6) What kind of plate is the Antarctic Plate? What is the
dominant seafloor feature that surrounds this plate?
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7) What is the dominant type of seafloor feature associated with
the northern and western edges of the Pacific Plate? Examine
the edges of the adjacent plates - those that touch the Pacific
Plate. Is there oceanic crust or continental crust bordering the
Pacific Plate? Write a short paragraph, comparing this area with
the eastern edge of the Nazca Plate.
8) Select one of the 4 plates listed below from the puzzle. Write
a story that takes the reader on a tour around the perimeter of
the selected plate. Imagine that you are operating a
submersible (a manned underwater vehicle with viewing
capabilities) just above the seafloor. Describe the features you
encounter along the way. Use the World Wide Web and other
resources available to find pictures of different seafloor images
of mid-ocean ridges, trenches, fracture zones and seamounts to
aid with your descriptions.
Nazca Plate
Cocos Plate
Juan de Fuca Plate
Indo-Australian Plate
Caribbean Plate
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