Sea-floor Spreading Model Activity

Read through ALL of the directions before getting started.

Skim pages 264-266 as a group. While you skim, answer the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Magnetism of rock is called: _______________________________________________

Has Earths magnetic field always pointed North as it does now? Yes / No
Rocks that have magnetic fields that point North have _________________________ polarity.
Rocks that have magnetic fields that point South have _________________________ polarity.
Scientists use the pattern of alternating normal and reverse polarity in rocks to create something called the
_________________________________ _______________________ time scale.

Activity Instructions:
1. Obtain one strip of paper, 1 black marker, one light-colored crayon, one dark-colored crayon
2. and 1 ruler. The paper should already be folded in half. Place the strip of paper between your desks (see picture
above) with the fold hanging at the lowest point.
3. In this activity, your desks will act as two diverging tectonic plates. Your paper, when it is hanging beneath the
table will represent magma, and when it is pulled up to the surface of the table it will represent the new rock
that forms when magma rises to the sea floor and cools during sea-floor spreading. As magma rises and cools,
it forms an underwater mountain range, called a mid-ocean ridge, on the sea floor all along the boundary.
4. The crease between your tables will represent the opening created between the ridges when plates move apart
from one another at a divergent boundary; this opening is called a rift valley. You will not actually be moving
your desks, but you will be pulling the paper up to show how magma rises to the surface of the sea floor each
time the plates move.
5. Before you start, there should only be enough of the paper showing on/above the table for you to be able to grab
it with your fingers. Fold just enough of the paper over the top of the desk so about 2 centimeters of paper show
on both sides of your plate tectonic boundary. Put an X -1 on both sides of the paper to indicate that the rock
currently showing is the first rock to form during this process. Think about what will happen to the location of
these Xs as the plates continue to move and magma continues to rise to the sea floor. Where do you think the
X-1s will end up?
6. Gently pull both sides of the paper in opposite directions until about 5 cm are visible on both sides of the crease
between the tables (the length of paper should be equal on both sides). Remember that this paper represents
magma that has come to the surface and cooled on the ocean floor.
7. Using your dark-colored crayon, color a line along the paper in the rift between the two tables. Then color in
dark-colored stripes on all of the paper that is showing on both sides of the rift using your
crayon. This color and pattern will indicate that at the time this rock formed, the magnetic field was pointing
North. Rocks that have magnetic minerals pointing north have normal polarity.
(Dark Stripes =
North Pointing Minerals = Normal Polarity).
8. Repeat step 4, but this time pull up only 3 cm of paper. Also this time, use a light-colored crayon to color a line
in the crease between the tables. Then color in all of the paper that is showing on both sides of your boundary,
but this time use your light-colored crayon and draw checkered boxes. The light-colored checkered boxes
indicate that at the time this rock formed, Earths magnetic field was pointing South, so all magnetic minerals in

the rock that just formed, point South. Rocks that have magnetic minerals pointing south have reverse polarity.
(Light Checkered Boxes = South Pointing Minerals = Reverse Polarity).
9. Repeat Steps 5-7 until all of the paper has been pulled up to the surface of your table (aka the sea floor). Vary
the lengths of paper that you pull up between 1 and 7 cm each time.
When all of your paper has been pulled to the surface use the BLACK MARKER to:
1. Draw a key on your strip of paper that indicates which color shows a magnetic field that points NORTH
(Normal Polarity) and which color shows a magnetic field that points SOUTH (Reverse Polarity).
2. Label the OLDEST and YOUNGEST rock on your paper (on both sides of the mid ocean ridge).
3. Label the type of boundary that was modeled in this activity at the center of your paper.

Answer the following questions once you are done with your modeling activity.
1. Which process did this activity model? ___________ - __________ _________________________
2. At which type of boundary does this process take place? _________________________________
3. Is crust being created or destroyed by this process? __________________________________
4. The age and polarity of rocks on either side of a mid-ocean ridge are the ___________ as on the other side of the
ridge.
5. Where is the youngest rock in relation to a mid-ocean ridge? _____________________________________
Where is the oldest rock in relation to a mid-ocean ridge? ________________________________________
6. Where does the new crust that forms on the ocean floor come from? _______________________________
7. If crust is created at mid-ocean ridges, why isnt the Earth itself growing larger? (Think about what you already
know about the rock cycle!!!!)

Study the Figure and then answer the questions that follow.

1. What feature of the ocean floor is shown at letter A? (by the way, this feature is missing from your model)
___________________________________________________________
2. What process is shown occurring at B? What forms as a result of this process?
________________________________

___________________________________________

3. What happens to older crust as new molten material rises to the surface at a mid-ocean ridge?
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. What process is shown occurring at C? What happens to crust as a result of this process?
_______________________________

___________________________________________

5. Why would you likely find volcanic mountains in the continental mountain range in the figure above?
_______________________________________________________________________________