Download EARTH SYSTEMS (Plate Tectonics) KUD

EARTH SYSTEMS
(Plate Tectonics)
K-U-D
Topic: Plate Tectonics
Lessons:
Investigating the Development of a New Theory
Investigating What Drives the Plate
Effects of Plate Movement
DE Geologic History
Which Standards are students learning in this unit?
Standard 1.1C
Standard 1.1D
Standard 1.2A
Standard 5.2.A
Standard 5.2.B
Standard 5.2.C
Standard 5.2.E
Standard 5.3.A
By the end of this unit, students will be able to…
Know:
Understand:
. Vocabulary
• Tectonic Plate
• Divergent boundary
• Convergent
boundary
• Transform boundary
• Thermal convection
• GPS
• GIS
.
• Recognize that a
scientific theory is
supported by
substantial evidence.
• Analyze evidence
supporting the theory
of plate tectonics
• Recognize the role
technology plays in
Do:
•
•
•
The theory of plate
tectonics has
developed over time
as more evidence
has become
available.
Sea floor age and
analysis of
paleomagnetic
information have
contributed to the
development of the
theory.
Technological
advances such as
satellites, laser
ranging, and global
positioning systems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
gathering evidence
for the theory of
Examine how
materials separate
according to their
densities.
Observe the effects
of temperature on
the density of a
material.
Determine the
density of some
earth materials.
plate tectonics
Collect, organize,
and display data
using appropriate
tools.
Describe the effects
of plate subduction.
Describe the role of
density in plate
tectonics.
Describe the role of
plate tectonics in
shaping the surface
of the Earth.
Describe the role of
plate tectonics in
volcanic eruptions
and earthquakes.
Review the geologic
time scale and place
modern time within
the eons, eras,
periods and epochs
of the scale.
Place Delaware’s
geologic history
within the framework
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
have increased our
ability to gather data
about crustal
movement.
Materials will
separate based on
their densities if in a
fluid mixture.
Temperature affects
the density of a
material. For
materials other than
water, the density
decreases as the
temperature
increases.
Temperature
changes to one part
of a fluid mixture will
change the relative
positions of the
components by
changing their
relative densities.
The density of rock
found on the
continents is less
dense than the rock
found under the
oceans.
Subduction, caused
by gravity, is the
main driving
mechanism for plate
tectonics.
Convection in the
mantle transfers
energy from the
Earth’s interior to the
crust.
•
•
•
of the geologic time
scale.
Observe the
generalized geologic
map of Delaware
and the geologic
maps of Delaware’s
New Castle and Kent
Counties. Based
upon observations
from these maps,
identify some of the
major rocks and
sediments that occur
in Delaware.
Develop a geologic
history for our state
based upon
evidence from
Delaware’s rocks
and sediments and
inferences that can
be drawn from that
evidence.
Use the rocks and
sediments of
Delaware to develop
a better
understanding of the
rock cycle.
•
•
•
•
•
Converging
continents create
mountain ranges.
Transform faults
occur due to uneven
spreading along rift
zones.
The geologic time
scale is used by
scientists to organize
Earth’s 4.55 billion
year history.
The geologic time
scale is divided up
into a series of units:
eons, eras, periods
and epochs. The
eons cover the
longest periods of
time (billions to many
hundreds of millions
of year); the epochs
cover the shortest
periods of time (tens
to hundreds of
thousands of years).
Delaware is
underlain by
metamorphic and
igneous rocks.
These rocks are
exposed at/near the
surface in the
northern portion of
New Castle County.
They are
metamorphic and
igneous. These
rocks are old, dating
back to the latest
part of the
Proterozoic Eon and
the earliest part of
the Phanerozoic Eon
within the Paleozoic
•
•
Era (approximately
400-600 million
years ago). They
were formed at a
time when Delaware
was part of a
convergent plate
boundary. These
igneous and
metamorphic rocks
became part of a
very large mountain
chain, as high in
elevation as the
modern day
Himalaya Mountains
in Asia, or the Andes
Mountains in South
America.
The metamorphic
and igneous rocks
throughout most of
Delaware are
covered by
sediments. The
thickness of these
sediments steadily
increases from
northwest to
southeast from less
than 1 meter in the
northern portion of
the state to over
3,000 meters in the
south.
The source of most
of these underlying
sediments is from
the continuing
weathering and
erosion of the
Appalachian
Mountains. This has
been occurring for
over the last 400
million years. These
•
•
weathered
sediments are
carried by water
(rivers and streams),
ice (when glaciers
occurred in
Pennsylvania), and
wind before
eventually being
deposited.
The sediments of
Delaware were
mostly deposited in
either river
(sometimes called
fluvial), marine (i.e.,
coastal or shallow
water), or glacial
environments. In the
present day,
sediments are being
deposited in
Delaware on land,
near the coast in
swamps and
marshes, and in
portions of Delaware
Bay.
The rocks and
sediments in
Delaware are an
example of the rock
cycle. Although, our
sediments have not
yet been lithified into
sedimentary rocks,
they still
demonstrate how
previously existing
rocks, like the
igneous and
metamorphic rocks
of Delaware, are
weathered, eroded,
and deposited,
where they can then
•
.
be lithified into
sedimentary rocks.
The energy that
drives the rock cycle
comes from two
sources. The
Earth’s internal
energy source
ultimately drives the
tectonic plates and
causes the formation
of divergent plate
boundaries – where
the igneous rocks of
Delaware were
formed – and
convergent plate
boundaries – where
the metamorphic
rocks of Delaware
were formed. The
external energy that
the Earth receives
from the Sun
determines climate
and drives the water
cycle that in large
part is responsible
for the weathering
and erosion of preexisting rocks that
leads to the
subsequent
deposition of the
sediments that will
become sedimentary
rocks.