Download "Inside Earth" Chapter 1 Section 5

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“Inside Earth”
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Topic:__
Name: _______First & Last____________________________
Class: _____Science____________ Period: ___All_____
Date: ____________October 2016________________
Essential Question:
How does the theory of plate tectonics explain the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of
energy that drives the process?
Notes:
Questions/Main Ideas:
*** Examine the Figures (pictures, maps, etc.) in this
section closely. They are very helpful. ***
p.s. This is often true in textbooks.
* The Earth’s lithosphere- the rigid rock of the crust and
upper mantle- is broken into pieces with jagged cracks at
the boundaries.
* The sections of Earth’s crust are called plates.
* The jagged edges between the plates are called
boundaries.
How Plates Move
*The Theory of Plate Tectonics explains the formation,
movement, and subduction of Earth’s plates.
* Convection currents in the mantle move the plates. As
they move, they collide, pull apart, or grind past each
other.
Plate Boundaries
* Faults are breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have
slipped past each other. “There are three kinds of plate
boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. A
different type of plate movement occurs along each type
of boundary.
***Look at Figure 23: Plate Tectonics on p. 34-35***
*** A divergent boundary is where two plates move
apart. Mid-ocean ridges occur at divergent boundaries,
and a rift valley forms when a divergent boundary
happens on land (e.g. The Great Rift Valley).
*** A convergent boundary is where two plates come
together: the result is a collision. The density of the plates
determines what happens.
* Two oceanic plates collide: the denser will sink at a
deep-ocean trench.
* Oceanic plate collides with continental plate: dense
oceanic crust sinks, through subduction beneath the lessdense continental crust.
* Two continental plates collide: Neither is dense enough
to sink far, so the crust is squeezed and broken in “mighty
mountain ranges” include the Himalayas, the tallest
mountains on Earth.
*** Transform Boundaries occur where two plates slip
past each other, moving in opposite directions.
Earthquakes often occur at transform boundaries, e.g. the
San Andreas Fault in California.
Plate Motions Over Time
* There is evidence that other supercontinents formed and
split apart over billions of years before Pangaea- which
formed when Earth’s landmasses drifted together about
260 million years ago.
Summary:
* The theory of plate tectonics explains the formation, movement, and subduction of
Earth’s plates.
* There are three main kinds of plate boundaries: divergent boundaries, convergent
boundaries, and transform boundaries. A different type of movement happens at
each type of boundary.
Key Terms: plate, scientific theory, plate tectonics, fault, divergent boundary, rift
valley, convergent boundary, transform boundary.