Download Document

Name: ________________________________
Date: __________________
Plate Tectonics Lab Activity: Snack Tectonics
The theory of plate tectonics states that the crust of the Earth is composed of
moving plates. These plates move along the lithosphere (Earth’s crust and upper mantle)
and the asthenosphere (the plastic-like layer beneath the lithosphere). This theory
also says that these plates are always in motion, creating a variety of interactions
at the plate boundaries.
At the plate boundaries, plates may converge (collide), diverge (separate), or
transform (slide) past each other in a lateral motion. The purpose of this lab is to
demonstrate interactions of plate boundaries.
Materials:
 Graham crackers
 Wax paper
 Frosting
 Water
 Plastic knife
In today’s activity we will be modeling:
 Divergent Plate Boundaries
 Convergent Plate Boundaries (Continental and Oceanic)
 Transform Plate Boundaries
Directions: Take a piece of wax paper and spread a thick layer of frosting in the center.
It should be about the size of a whole graham cracker but twice as thick. Read and follow all
instructions for each part, then answer the questions that follow.
Part I: Put two graham crackers side by side. Slide one graham cracker up away from you
and the other one down toward you
.
1. Which plate boundary are you demonstrating?
______________________________________________________________
2.
What happened to the crackers?
______________________________________________________________
3.
What do the breaks between the crackers represent?
______________________________________________________________
4. Nothing happens at the beginning, but as the pressure is increased, the crackers
finally break. What do we call the breaking and vibrating of the Earth’s crust?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Part II: Put two graham crackers very close to each other on wax paper and
slowly push them away from each other.
.
1.) Which plate boundary are you demonstrating?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2.) What happened to the frosting? What does this represent?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3.) What kind of land feature is created by this movement?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Part III: Put two graham crackers side by side and slowly push them together. Observe what
happens to the frosting. Then make one cracker slide underneath the other.
1.)
Which plate boundary are you demonstrating?
___________________________________________________________
2.)
What happened to the frosting when you pushed the
crackers together? What does this represent?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.)
What is it called when one plate sinks below another? Why does this happen?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
4.)
What is caused when one plate sinks below the other?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Part IV: Take two graham crackers and dip one end of each into a cup of water (about 2 cm).
Immediately remove the crackers and lay them end to end on the frosting with the wet edges
nearly touching. Slowly push the two crackers together.
1.)
Which plate boundary are you demonstrating?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
2.)
What happened to the wet ends of the graham cracker?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3.)
How do the wet crackers act more like the real crustal plates than the dry crackers?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion:
1.)
State what each of the following represent in the experiment: the graham crackers,
frosting, and movement of crackers.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2.)
Give an example of how plate movement affects the construction (the formation
of valleys, ridges, trenches) of Earth’s surface?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3.) Give an example of how plate movement affects the destruction of Earth’s surface.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________