SCIENCE 10

Name: _________________ Grade & Section: _______________ Date: ___________

Topic: Tectonic Plates

Learning Competencies: Describe and relate the distribution of active volcanoes, earthquake
epicenters and major mountain belts to Plate Tectonic Theory .
Objective/s:
1. Identify and search out from the map the major and minor tectonic plates of the world.
2. Classify the tectonic plates as oceanic or continental.
Basic Concepts:

Plate Tectonic is a theory which suggests that the Earth’s crust is made up of plates that interact in
various ways, thus producing earthquakes, mountains, volcanoes and other geologic features.

Earth’s lithosphere consists of layers, the crust and the upper part of the mantle. As presented in
the Figure 1 below, there are two kinds of crust; the thicker but less dense is the Continental crust and the
Oceanic crust is relatively thinner but denser than continental crust. The continental crust is composed
primarily of granite while the oceanic crust is composed primarily of basalt.

Figure 1. Types of Crust. http://ricksci.com/ear/earr_pt_litho_astheno_asu.htm

The table 1 below shows the summary on type of crust, thickness, density and its
composition.

Types Thickness Density Composition

Continental 25-70 km 2.7 g/cm 3
Granite
Oceanic 7-10 km 2.9 g/cm3 Basalt
Table 1: Summary on Type of Crust

Now, let’s have a warm up activity by playing 4 pics 1 word. In this activity, there is a
hidden word in the picture. Can you guess the hidden word?

Activity 1: 4-PICS-1-WORD
Every item displays four pictures linked by a word describing terms about layers of the earth.
Answer every item by identifying 1 common word in the 4 picture.

1. 2.
 Did you get it all correctly? Easy, isn’t it?
According to the plate tectonics model, the entire lithosphere of the Earth is broken into
numerous segments called plates. Each plate is slowly but continuously moving and this
movement is called tectonics, thus the theory of moving lithospheric plates is called plate
tectonics.
This time, let us explore the map of plate boundaries. As you can observe, the map shows
the lithosphere of the earth divided into segments called plates. There are relatively large
segments also called major plates and smaller segments called minor plates
From the map, can you identify the major plates? How about the minor plates? Name
them by doing activity 2.
Activity 2: MAJOR OR MINOR PLATES?
Based on the map, classify the major and minor plates by writing your answer on the table
provided below. Example for each category is given as your guide.

https://bit.ly/3gPuAs9

MAJOR PLATES (In any order) MINOR PLATES (In any order)
1. African Plate 5. 1. Arabian Plate 5.
2. 6. 2. 6.
3. 7. 3. 7.
4. 8. 4. 8.

Aside from the major and minor plates, these plates are also categorized as Continental
and Oceanic plates. Continental plates are those that underlie the continents while the Oceanic
plates are those that lie beneath the oceans.
From the list of the plates, identify the plates as Continental Plates or Oceanic Plates
Activity 3: Continental Plates or Oceanic Plates?
Enumerate the Continental plates and Oceanic plates based from the List of Plates you answer
from the activity 2. For you to be guided, use the word bank given below.
 Indian
African Plate
Australian Plate
Plate
CONTINENTAL PLATES (In any order) OCEANIC PLATES (In any order)
1. 5. 1. 5.
2. 6. 2. 6.
3. 7. 3. 7.
4. 8. 4. 8.

WORB BANK

Arabian Plate African Plate Pacific Plate

Cocos Plate Eurasian Plate

Australian Plate Antarctic Plate

Caribbean Plate Indian Plate

North American Plate Juan de Fuca Plate

Nazca Plate South American Plate

Scotia Philippine Plate

Activity 4: Label my Plate!

Identify and label the numbered plates. Then classify whether it is Continental plate or Oceanic
plate.

3 4

1
5

Image source: https://bit.ly/2YYQFOC

Names of Plates Continental Plate or Oceanic Plate

1. ________________________________ ,_________________________________
_
2. ________________________________ ,_________________________________
_
3. ________________________________ ,_________________________________
_
 4. ________________________________ ,__________________________________
_
5. ________________________________ ,__________________________________
_

SUMMATIVE TEST: Complete me!

Fill in the blanks with the correct answer using the word bank.
In the figure below, you can see the Philippine Plate. The Philippine Plate is a
1.)__________plate because it is a small one and it is also a 2.)_____________ plate since it
underlies beneath the ocean, that is why it is also known as Philippine Sea Plate. From the map,
can you cite the major plates surrounding the Philippine Plate? Name them. (3-5. In any order)
3)______________________, 4.)___________________ 5.) ____________________

Australian Plate minor Pacific Plate Eurasian Plate Oceanic

Knowing the different types of tectonic plates could help us understand how and where do these
plates are located when we look at the present map of today.

References:
Herma D. Acosta, Liza A. Alvarez, et. al. Science 10 Learner’s Material, Department of
Education. 2018.

Prepared by:

MARIBEL D. SOLIS
Secondary School Teacher III
Digos City National High School