Name: Juliana Nicole P.

Tadiosa
Grade 10: Stewardship Date: Sept. 9, 2021

Laboratory Activity 1: The Theory of Plate Tectonics

Objectives:
a. enumerate the lines of evidence that support plate movement.
b. explain possible causes of plate movement.
c. draw a sketch of the continents as they continue to move at the same
pattern.
d. conform or contradict one's theory by analyzing the supporting
evidence.

Materials: internet/books as references

Procedure:
1. Follow the instructions of each part and answer the given questions.

Explore:
1. Navigate to the Earthquakes Living Lab at
http://www.teachengineering.org/livinglabs/earthquakes/. Notice the four main
components of the Earthquakes Living Lab.
2. Select the second option, the “Southern California” box.
> click the third link on the right side of the page titled,
“How have the Earth’s continents changed over time?” at
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/anim1.html.

3. Compare the map of the world today (such as the real-time earthquake
map) to a map of the world 250 million years ago (called Pangaea). Use the
interactive continental drift map to watch the change in the Earth’s landforms
over millions of years.
 ● As you watch the animation, record at least three examples of how the
continents have changed their positions over time.

Explain:
1. Navigate back to the Earthquakes Living Lab main page and click on the
links titled, “What is the theory of plate tectonics? and What evidence
supports the theory of plate tectonics?” and general information on plate
tectonics. Explore more about the theory. Read the background information
and answer the following questions:

The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth's solid outer crust, the
lithosphere, is separated into plates that move over the asthenosphere, the
molten upper portion of the mantle. There is a variety of evidence that supports
the claims that plate tectonics accounts for the distribution of fossils on different
continents, the occurrence of earthquakes, and continental and ocean floor
features including mountains, volcanoes, faults, and trenches. Modern
continents hold clues to their distant past. Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and
complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils
tell us when and where plants and animals once existed.
2. What might have caused the continents to move?
The movement of these tectonic plates is likely caused by convection
currents in the molten rock in Earth’s mantle below the crust. Earthquakes
and volcanoes are the short-term results of this tectonic movement. The
long-term result of plate tectonics is the movement of entire continents over
millions of years (Fig. 7.18). The presence of the same type of fossils on
continents that are now widely separated is evidence that continents have
moved over geological history.

3. Describe some important information related to this theory.

Plate boundaries are important because they are often associated with
earthquakes and volcanoes. When Earth's tectonic plates grind past one
another, enormous amounts of energy can be released in the form of
earthquakes.

Elaborate: Find and record evidence used to explain how continents have
moved over time. Explore the following links to identify explanations and
examples of evidence. You may also use any of the other links located on the
Earthquakes Living Lab page. Use a graphic organizer (such as the chart below)
to record your ideas.

● Seafloor spreading and earthquakes:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/developing.html
● Fossils :
http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/Education/Learning_Resources/Voyager_for_Ki
ds/earth_puzzle/
● Volcanoes: http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/hottopics/seamounts.html
 Category Evidence Examples and Explanations
Abundant evidence supports the major contentions of
the seafloor-spreading theory. First, samples of the deep
ocean floor show that basaltic oceanic crust and
overlying sediment become progressively younger as the
mid-ocean ridge is approached, and the sediment cover
is thinner near the ridge. Seafloor spreading occurs along
sea floor mid-ocean ridges—large mountain ranges rising from the
spreading ocean floor. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, for instance,
separates the North American plate from the Eurasian
plate, and the South American plate from the African
plate.

Fossils are essentially clues that have been left behind by

various forms of living things. They are instrumental tools
for understanding the diverse groups of organisms that
have inhabited our planet at one time or another. A fossil
is any preserved evidence of an organism. Fossils are the
preserved remains, or traces of remains, of ancient
organisms. Fossils are not the remains of the organism
fossils itself. A fossil can preserve an entire organism or just part
of one. Bones, shells, feathers, and leaves can all become
fossils.

Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called

seismographs.By placing seismometers around the world,
scientists can get a clearer picture of how tectonic plates
are moving. They can even detect earthquakes that
earthquakes occur on the opposite side of the earth and nuclear
explosions. The data from earthquakes can also give us
insight into the different layers of Earth's interior.
● Shallow fault earthquakes. A fault is a break in the rock
beneath our feet. ...
 ● Subduction zone earthquakes. The largest
earthquakes ever recorded are subduction zone
earthquakes. ...
● Deep earthquakes. Deep earthquakes occur in the
subducting ocean slab, deep beneath the continental
crust.

A volcano is an opening in the earth's crust through which

lava, volcanic ash, and gases escape. ... Beneath a
volcano, liquid magma containing dissolved gases rises
through cracks in the Earth's crust. As the magma rises,
pressure decreases, allowing the gases to form bubbles.
● Mount Fuji, Japan
● Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
● Mauna Loa and Kilauea, Hawaii
● Mount Etna, Italy
volcanoes ● Pico de Fogo, Cape Verde
● Pacaya, Guatemala
● Mount Vesuvius, Italy
● Villarrica, Chile

Evaluate:

In the early 1900s Alfred Wegener proposed the continents were “drifting.” The
scientific community did not support his theory due to a lack of scientific
evidence. Using what you learned in this activity, would you support Wegener’s
hypothesis or not? Write a one-paragraph essay that explains your position.

I will support Alfred Wegener’s theory/ hypothesis, if their’s a

cause of continents to move because of the movement of tectonic plates, there
really is a possibility that continents in the past years are together. But as the
time comes, continents spread and break apart. No one really can tell if this
theory is real or a fact without scientist’s investigations and evidence. But as the
continents spreads through all the past years, I think it is possible that pangaea
has really exist in the early years and as the years past, continents has break
apart and drift to their present locations.