Download Divergent Boundaries and Spreading Plates

Name _______________________________________ Date __________________ Period____
I.
Plates and Boundaries
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/plate.html
1. The Earth’s lithosphere is broken into about ___________ major tectonic plates.
2. Plates are named based on ________________,_________________and
___________________________ where they are located.
3. The border between two plates is called a _______________.
4. Plates are in constant motion due to ________________ in the asthenosphere.
5. The 3 types of plate boundaries are _____________, _______________ and ____________.
II. Use the interactive map to discover where the three different types of
plate boundaries are found throughout the world and then complete the
table:
Plate
Interactions
Nazca Plate
South
American
Plate
Indian Plate
(north end)
Eurasian Plate
Phillipine
Plate
Pacific Plate
Arabian Plate
African Plate
Type of Plate
(Ocean or
Continental)
Boundary Type
What happens
Predict what specific
land feature(s) are
created
III. Complete the Plates and Boundaries Challenge on line
IV. Slip, Slide and Collide
1. List three geological events that occur at plate boundaries: _______________,
__________________, and ____________________
Observe and read what happens at plate boundaries and then answer
the questions.
Convergent Boundaries
A.
Continental- Oceanic:

B.





Why do volcanic mountains form on the continental plate and not the
oceanic plate?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Ocean- Ocean:
What determines which plate will subduct beneath the other?
________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
How is this type of plate interaction like continental –oceanic
convergence?____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________
How is it different?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
__________________________________
Why are large powerful earthquakes generated at subduction
zones?__________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
__________________________________
_______________ are large waves that are generated by earthquakes in
subduction zones.
Collision Zones and Mountains
C.
Continental- Continental Convergence
 Why doesn’t the rock between continental plates get pushed under to
create a subduction zone?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
The Himalaya Mountains were created when the _____________plate
and the _______________plate collided about _____________million
years ago.

Divergent Boundaries and Spreading Plates
A. Continental- Continental



Why do valleys and volcanoes form where two continental plates are
separating?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Early in the rift formation _________and _______ flow in the low
valleys and long, narrow _____________ can be created.
How can a new tectonic plate form at this boundary?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
IV. Transform Boundaries
1. This type of boundary creates ___________ , or cracks in the earth’s surface.
2. Why do transform boundaries and the faults associated with them create
earthquakes?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____
3. The motion of the plates at a transform boundary has given the type a fault
another name ___________________________.
4. The __________________ Fault is an example and is located at the boundary
between the _______________plate and the _____________plate.
Complete the on line Plate Interactives Challenge at the bottom of the page and then move on to
test your knowledge by taking the online examination.