Title: School-on-Air, Science 10

Topic: Plate Tectonics

Format: School-on-the-Air
Length: 25 minutes
Scriptwriter: Marmonito G. Rotersos
Technical Editor: Alexis Jon M. Naingue
Radio Host: Donna Michille Handugan
Radio Teacher: Armi Joy Mendez
Objective:
a. locate the epicenter of an earthquake using the Triangulation Method;
b. interpret the distance-time curve graph;

Time
Allotment
Tasks
:30 OBB (no need to finish the whole song)
1 min HOST: Hello our dear viewers and listeners. Welcome to our TeleRadyo Eskwela Tara Na!, the
school-on-air program of DepEd Tagum City. This is your teacher-host, ______________. Today,
you will be learning about Plate Tectonics, a lesson in Grade 10 Science, Quarter 1, Module 1. So,
get your modules, your notebooks and your writing pen. And be comfortable seated in the comfort
of your homes. Let me give our teacher-broadcaster, ________________. We would also like to
thank our radio partner - CHARM Radio Station, ____ FM, where we are airing our lessons for
Junior High. Thank you for your generosity.
1 min BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
BROADCASTER: Hello viewers and listeners. We are very glad because despite the pandemic, we
can continue learning through our TeleRadyo Eskwela. I am your teacher for today _______
Towards the end of our episode, we are supposed to:
locate the epicenter of an earthquake using the Triangulation Method and interpret the distance-time
curve graph;
It is very important that we would be able to learn active volcanoes, earthquake epicenters because
they are associated with earthquakes that we always experience specially we are part of the pacific
ring of fire.

1 min BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER

BROADCASTER: But before we’ll proceed to our present lesson, let us try to recall the concepts
your learned back in Grade 8 Science . Earthquake releases seismic waves. May I ask, what are the
two main types of waves. Very good! The two types of waves are transverse waves and longitudinal
waves.
1 min BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
BROADCASTER: To start with, How many seismograph stations are needed to locate the epicenter
of an earthquake using the Triangulation Method? Correct! There are three station recordings that
are needed to locate an epicenter.

1 min BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER

BROADCASTER: Have you ever experience Earthquake? What do you usually see in the news and
social media after an Earthquake? Let’s try to find out as we go along with our lesson for today.
15 mins BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
BROADCASTER: On your Quarter 1 module 1 let us study. What is Plate Tectonics?. Plate
Tectonics is the unifying theory of geology. It tells how the surface of the Earth is formed and is
changed resulting to different geologic features/events. What does the 4 picture signify? Plate
tectonics is a theory which deals with the dynamics of Earth’s outermost layers- the lithosphere.
Earth’s lithosphere is made up of two layers, the outermost crust, and the top part of the upper
mantle. This theory revolutionized Earth sciences by providing a uniform context for understanding
geologic events that give rise to mountain building, volcanic formation, and generation of
earthquakes as well as the evolution of Earth’s surface and reconstructing its past continents and
oceans.
BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
Earth’s crust is composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. A
relatively thin crust, which typically varies from a few kilometers (5km to 50 km) in thickness, it has
an average density of 2.8g/cm3 containing all known life in the universe. The crust is thinnest under
the oceans and thickest under continental mountain ranges. Amazing, right?
Earth's crust is generally divided into two: the older, thicker but less dense continental crust and the
younger, thinner but denser oceanic crust. The entire Earth’s lithosphere, according to the Plate
Tectonics model, is subdivided into numerous, irregularly shaped segments called plates that glide
over the underlying partially molten rock and thus weaker layer known as the asthenosphere.
BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
The surface of the Earth is divided into larger, major plates, and the relatively smaller, minor plates.
The seven major plates are the African plate, Antarctic plate, Eurasian plate, Indo-Australian plate,
North American plate, Pacific plate, and South American plate. Several minor plates include the
Arabian, Nazca, and Philippine plates. These plates move constantly, in a slow, continuous, and
random motion. This movement is called tectonics; thus, the theory of moving lithospheric plates is
called Plate Tectonics. As the plates move past each other, they sometimes collide, and pressure
builds up. When the plates finally give and slip due to the increased pressure, energy is released as
seismic waves, causing the ground to shake. This is an earthquake.
BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
The two main types of waves are body waves and surface waves. Body waves can travel through the
earth's inner layers, but surface waves can only move along the surface of the planet like ripples on
water. The first kind of body wave is the P wave or primary wave. This is the fastest kind of seismic
wave, and, consequently, the first to arrive at a seismic station. The second type of body wave is the
S wave or secondary wave, which is the second wave you feel in an earthquake. Traveling only
through the crust, surface waves are of a lower frequency than body waves, and they arrive after
body waves. Seismologists can use the direction and the difference in the arrival times (also called
lag time) between P-waves and S-waves to determine the distance to the source of an earthquake.
The farther a seismic recording station is from the earthquake epicenter, the greater will be the
difference in time of arrival (lag time) between the P and S wave.
BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
The seismograph records the time of the arrival of the different types of seismic waves. It also shows
differences in their wave heights (called amplitude). The tracing of earthquake motion it produces is
called a seismogram. The source of an earthquake is called the focus (hypocenter), which is an exact
location within Earth where seismic waves are generated by the sudden release of stored elastic
energy. The epicenter is the point on the surface of Earth directly above the focus. This is the
location that the scientists calculate.
BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
To determine the location of an earthquake, the distance of the earthquake must be determined from
at least three seismic recording stations in a process called Triangulation Method. Circles with the
appropriate radius are then drawn around each seismic station. The radii of the circles are scaled to
the estimated distance from the seismic station to the earthquake. The intersection of three circles
uniquely identifies the earthquake epicenter.
BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
Now let us try to Triangulate an Earthquake on your module let us practice Activity 1. The objective
of this activity is to:
1.Apply the concept of triangulation to locate an earthquake’s epicenter.
2.Determine the distance of an earthquake from a location by measuring the time difference between
 primary and secondary seismic waves.
3.Plot circles with the appropriate radius in each seismic station.
4.Interpret the distance-time curve graph.
STEP 1
1.To figure out just where the earthquake happened, you need to look at the hypothetical data of
three seismic stations below. Station Mati Time Difference in the arrival time of P- wave and S-
wave (seconds) 24sec, Kidapawan 15 secs and Alabel 36secs.
STEP 2
2.Using the difference in arrival times, determine the distance from the earthquake for each seismic
station, and write it on the table.
Do this by using the formula: d = Td x 100 km
8 sec
Where: d = distance (km)
Td = time difference in the arrival times of P and S- wave
(seconds)
This formula is used because 8 seconds is the interval between the times of the arrival of the P- wave
and S- wave at 100 km.
3.Check the scale in the map (the scale of the map in Figure 5 is 1cm: 100 km). Then choose one of
the seismic stations and figure out the computed distance on the map. For example, if the distance to
the epicenter of the earthquake is 215 km away, that equals 2.15 cm on the map.
4.Using a ruler, measure the radius of the circle which is equal to the distance between the station
and the epicenter that you determined in step #3 with the map scale (the radius is the distance from
the center of a circle to its edge). Then use a drawing compass to draw a circle around each seismic
station. The center of the circle will be the location of your seismic station.
5.Do the same thing for the distance to the epicenter that the other seismic stations have. Find the
intersection point where all three of the circles meet. That point is the estimated epicenter of the
earthquake.
BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
If the earthquake happened locally, we use the time difference formula stated in the procedure. But,
if the earthquake took place at varying distances away, seismologists use a distance-time curve graph
in finding the location of the epicenter.
A distance-time curve graph is a graph of the time that it takes for seismic waves to travel from the
epicenter of an earthquake to seismograph stations at far greater distances. The velocity of seismic
waves through different materials yields information about Earth's deep interior.
The distance-time curve graph above shows that the S-P time interval for Seismic Station A is about
3 minutes (P-wave arrives at t =3.0 min and the S-wave arrives at t = 6.0 min, their time difference is
3 minutes). The distance traveled from the earthquake epicenter is 1500 km. Locating the
earthquake’s epicenter assumes an integral role in establishing the fundamentals of plate tectonics.
Let us check how early geologists utilized the plotted positions of earthquake epicenters throughout
the world in conceptualizing tectonic plates developments.
Make sure to answer all guide questions.
3 mins BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
BROADCASTER: Why would geologists need seismic data from three stations to calculate the
epicenter of an earthquake? Why would they not be able to only use two stations?
1 min BIZ: MSC UP AND UNDER
BROADCASTER: For your Assignment, please answer Activity no. 2 Marking Earth Boundaries
:30 I hope that you learned a lesson from our discussion today.
Thank you students, viewers and listeners for tuning in. Stay tune for our next subject only here in
Tinig Himpapawid ng Magdum High. Bye for now.