Science 10 Reviewer

The Development of the Theory of Plate Tectonics

1. Contraction Theory
 Edward Suess : made an analogy between the wrinkles on the surface of a dried shrunken fruit and the
mountains on the surface of the Earth
 Suggested that the Earth cooled down after its formation, and its surface contracted and wrinkled
2. Continental Drift Theory
 Alfred Wegener : proposed in 1912 that there once existed a very large landmass called “Pangaea” (All
the Earth), that later became two smaller continents: “Gondwana” and “Laurasia”

GONDWANA: LAURASIA:
- Africa - Asia
- Antartica - North America
- South America - Europe
- Australia
- subcontinent
WEGENER’S of India
OBSERVATIONS:
1. The eastern coastline of South America and the western coastline of Africa seem to fit snugly into each other.
 The shapes of several continents seem to fit into each other.

2. Similar fossils of plants and animals were found on the eastern coast of South America and on the western coast
of some parts in the south of the African continent.
 Rock types and fossils in South America and South Africa are very similar. Animals in South
America share common ancestors with those in Africa.

3. There are other cases of similar fossil sequences from landmasses on the eastern and western coasts of other
oceans.
 Mountain ranges of different continents are made of the same rocks, were formed in the same
sequence, and are of the same age; but are now far apart from each other.

4. The sequences of rock layers on opposite sides of oceans match each other.
 Geological studies of areas with glaciers in eastern South America match those in South and West
Africa.

5. Fossils of tropical plants were also found in the Arctic and Antarctic polar regions.
 Coal from hot swampy forest and coral limestone from warm swallow seas can be found in Northern
Countries like Scotland, and even in Antarctica near the South pole.

3. Seafloor Spreading Theory

 Harry Hess : proposed this theory in the 1960’s saying that the seafloors or ocean floors, not the
continents, move and only carry the latter.
4. Theory of Plate Tectonics
 Based on the Continental Drift Theory & the Seafloor Spreading Theory
 States that the surface of the Earth is composed of many independent massive slabs of solid rocks called
plates that are constantly moving 15 mm per year.
 Plates under landmasses are called CONTINENTAL PLATES while plates under the ocean are called
OCEANIC PLATES.

PRIMARY PLATES SECONDARY PLATES

1. Eurasian Plate 1. Juan de Fuca Plate
2. Australian Plate 2. Nazca Plate
3. Pacific Plate 3. Cocos Plate
4. North American Plate 4. Caribbean Plate
5. South American Plate 5. Philippine Plate
6. African Plate 6. Arabian Plate
7. Antarctic Plate 7. Indian Plate
8. Scoria Plate
 Plate Boundaries and Interactions
The regions between plates are called plate boundaries. As the plates move, fractures called faults develop on
Earth’s crust.
Plates are independent massive slabs of solid rocks which floats on an inner pliable mantle.
Plates move with respect to each other in three ways: apart one another, toward, or past
1. Divergent Plate Boundary
 Two plates that move away from each other.
Divergent boundaries between oceanic plates produce MID-OCEANIC RIDGES.
In places where molten lava or magma can move up and fill the gap, volcanic islands are formed. Molten
lava that rises eventually cools and forms part of the ocean floor. This is called SEAFLOOR
SPREADING or OCEAN FLOOR SPREADING. If there are two continents located on these plates,
they pull apart.
 EURASIA and NORTH AMERICA move away from each other at a rate of five
centimeters per year.
 Any continent or landmass above a divergent plate boundary will be torn apart into distinct
landmasses.
o The Great East African Rift Valley is an example of this phenomenon
2. Convergent Plate Boundary
 Where two plates slide towards each other and form either a SUBDUCTION ZONE or an
OROGENIC BELT
SUBDUCTION: denser plate does down
OROGENESIS: the process of forming mountains and mountain ranges; involves the collision of plates
and forces of compression
OROGENIC BELT: a region of deformed rocks
1. Oceanic-oceanic
 When two oceanic plates collide, a subduction zone is formed
 The descending oceanic plate begins to melt upon contact with the asthenosphere
 The molten material begins to rise, creating a chain of volcanoes
2. Oceanic-continental
 The oceanic plate subducts beneath the continental plate
 Trenches and volcanic mountains are developed
o Andes Mountains in South America
o Cascade Range in North America
3. Continental-continental
 Convergence: the continental plates suture themselves
 Continental crust buckles and rocks pile up, creating towering mountain ranges
o Alps and Himalayas
3. Transform Plate Boundary
 Where plates slide past each other in opposite directions
o San Andreas Fault

No mountains or volcanoes are produced. Instead, earthquakes result from the movement of plates

Layers of the Earth

Based on composition…
1. Crust
  Outermost layer of the earth
 Continental (40-70 km)
o Light granitic rocks made up of mostly aluminum silicates
 Oceanic (5 km)
o Dense basaltic rocks made up of magnesium silicates
2. Mantle
 Located between the crust and the core (80%)
 Hot, slow-flowing rock (2900 km)
 Contains ferro-magnesium silicate rocks
3. Core
 Below the mantle to the center of the Earth
 Made mostly of iron and some nickel
 Densest layer and makes up about one-third of Earth’s mass

Physical layers…
1. Lithosphere
 Outermost, rigid layer of the Earth
 Made of the crust and the rigid, upper part of the mantle
 Divided into pieces called tectonic plates
2. Asthenosphere
 Located below the lithosphere; tectonic plates move on top of the asthenosphere
 Layer of weak or soft mantle made of solid rock that moves very slowly
3. Mesosphere
 Strong, lower part of the mantle
 Rocks in the mesosphere flow more slowly than rocks in the asthenosphere
4. Outer Core
 Liquid layer
 Lies beneath the mantle and surrounds the inner core
 Made up of molten nickel and iron (2270 km)
5. Inner Core
 Solid, dense center of the Earth
 Extends from the bottom the outer core to the center of the Earth
 Composed of solid iron (1220 km)
INTERFACES mark the boundaries between the layers of the earth
o Mohorovičić discontinuity – between the crust and the mantle
o Gutenberg discontinuity – between the mantle and outer core
o Lehman discontinuity – between the outer core and inner core
 Mechanisms of Plate Movement
Theory of Plate Tectonics – plates on Earth’s crust move at a speed of about 2.5 cm per year
Convection – movement of matter that results from differences in density caused by variations in temperature
 Convection in the mantle causes cooler rock to sink and warmer rock to rise.
 This drives the movement of tectonic plates, which is manifested as earthquakes or helps form
mountains, volcanos, islands, trenches, and mid-ocean ridges.

The movement of plates is influenced by two types of forces:

1. Driving Forces
o Either push tectonic plates toward one another or pull them apart
1. MANTLE CONVECTION – caused by the rising of heat from the core toward the mantle. This drives
the plates away from one another.
2. SLAB PULL – takes place when a subducting slab sinks into hot mantle because of a difference in
temperature. The rest of the plate to which the slab is attached will be pulled as well.
3. SLAB SUCTION – occurs between two colliding plates, one subducting underneath the other,
whereby convection current in the upper mantle suck both plates down.
4. RIDGE PUSH – occurs when the lithosphere is pushed up by the asthenosphere because of
convection currents from the mantle. Gravity pushes the plate down and new crust is formed.

2. Resisting Forces
o Act against the driving forces of plate tectonics
1. SLAB RESISTANCE – resists all the forces associated with plate movement in subduction zones.
2. COLLISIONAL RESISTANCE – occurs when heavy plate is pulled into the mantle but resists
subduction because of friction. This opposes the slab pull.
3. TRANSFORM FAULT RESISTANCE – the frictional force due to the opposing movement of plates
moving past one another between two spreading centers.
4. DRAG FORCE – resists movement of lithospheric plates.
 Mapping the Inner Earth
SEISMIC WAVES – waves of energy that travel through the Earth’s layers
 Earthquake occurs
 Block of rocks break
 Volcanic eruption
 Tectonic plate movement
SEISMOGRAPHS - the instrument used to record the motion of the ground during an earthquake.
SEISMOMETERS – internal part of the seismograph, which may be a pendulum or a mass mounted on a spring
SEISMOGRAM – the recording of the ground shaking at the specific location of the instrument in mm/millimeter per
second.
o RICHTER SCALE
- A quantitative measure of an earthquake’s magnitude (size), devised in 1935 by American
seismologists Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenberg.
o MERCALLI SCALE
- Measures the intensity of an earthquake by observing its effect on people, the environment,
and the earth’s surface developed by Giuseppe Mercalli.
o DRAGON & TODD
- The first seismometer that was invented by Chan Heng in the early civilization in China

Types of Seismic Waves

 BODY WAVES – travel through the inner layers of the Earth
1. P-waves
- Compressional waves
o They pass through solid sections of the Earth but refracted or bent when they travel
through liquids
- First to be felt on the Earth’s surface and travels at speeds
2. S-waves
- Transverse waves
o They do not travel through liquids
- They travel about 60% to 70% slower than the P-Waves

 SURFACE WAVES – travel only on the surface of the earth

1. Love Waves
- the fastest type of the surface waves and move the ground from side to side
- named after Augustus Edward H. Love, who works on the propagation of surface waves and
the structure of the Earth.
2. Rayleigh Waves
- move in a circular manner, similar to rolling on the ground
- named after John William Strutt, also known as Lord Rayleigh
- these waves account for the greater devastation during an earthquake

EARTHQUAKES – the shaking of the Earth as the result of the breaking or shifting of the rocks of the tectonic
plates, which release seismic energy.
FAULT PLANE – the surface where the blocks slip past each other
 FAULTS - cracks on the Earth’s crust, of which they are three types
1. Normal Fault
- A dip-slip fault where the hanging wall slips downward with respect to the footwall
 Dip-slip refers to the movement of faults along the angle of the fault plane. The angle of
movement is called the dip, while the movement is called the slip.
2. Reverse Fault
- A dip-slip fault where the block of Earth’s crust pushes upward and along the dip
angle
Thrust fault is a type of reverse fault where the angle of the dip is 45 ° or less
3. Strike-slip Fault
- Nearly vertical fault planes or surfaces slide in parallel but opposite directions
o San Andreas Fault

Oblique-slip fault is a combination of strike-slip and dip-slip. Blocks of Earth’s crust slide
horizontally and obliquely up or down from each other.
 FOCUS – the point within the Earth where the tectonic plate rocks start to break and where seismic energy is
first released. (HYPOCENTER)
1. Shallow (10-100 km) (strongest)
2. Intermediate (100-300 km)
3. Deep (300 km or deeper)

 EPICENTER – the point on the crust of the Earth, directly above the focus.
TRIANGULATION TECHNIQUE – used to obtain the distances from at least three stations, plot the values and
find their common intersection, which is the epicenter.

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