SCIENCE 10 QUARTER 1

PLATE TECTONICS
Describe and relate the distribution of active volcanoes, earthquake epicenters, and major mountain belts to Plate Tectonic Theory

Land features found in the LAYERS OF THE EARTH

Crust – outermost layer. Crust is

made up of a variety of solid
Lithosphere rocks like sedimentary,
Lithosphere is made up of
crust and upper mantle. metamorphic,
Volcano and igneous. It has
an average density of 2.8 g/cm3
Mountain Range Volcano
and its thickness ranges from 5 to
50 km.
PLATE TECTONIC THEORY
2 kinds of Crust
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that 1. Continental - thicker but less dense
explains how major landforms are created 2. Oceanic- thinner but denser
as a result of Earth’s subterranean
movements. The theory, which solidified
in the 1960s, transformed the earth
According to the plate tectonic model, the entire lithosphere of the Earth is broken into
sciences by explaining many phenomena,
numerous segments called plates.
including mountain building events,
volcanoes, and earthquakes.
o Plates refer to the pieces of Earth's crust and the upper mantle that together
form the lithosphere of the Earth.
The idea that continents moved over time
had been proposed before the 20th century.
However, a German scientist named
Alfred Wegener changed the scientific
debate. Wegener published two articles
about a concept called continental drift in
1912. He suggested that 200 million years
ago, a supercontinent he called Pangaea
began to break into pieces, its parts
moving away from one another. The
continents we see today are fragments of
that supercontinent. To support his theory,
Wegener pointed to matching rock
formations and similar fossils in Brazil and
West Africa. In addition, South America
and Africa looked like they could fit Map of Plate Boundaries
together like puzzle pieces.
o There are 7 relatively large plates and a number of smaller ones, including the
PANGEA LAURASIA Philippine Plate. The plates move very slowly but constantly, and this
movement is called tectonics; thus the theory of moving lithospheric plates is
called plate tectonics.

250 million years ago GONDWANA

150 million years ago QUESTIONS:

1. What do you think of Wegener’s theory on continental drift?

2. If the plate moves constantly, why can’t we feel it?
3. What do you think will occur if the plates suddenly move with
great force?

100 million years ago Earth Today

QUIZ
SCIENCE 10 QUARTER 1
1. A scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth’s subterranean movements.
a. plate tectonics
b. continental tectonics
c. tectonics

2. published two articles about a concept called continental drift in 1912.

a. Alfred Wegener
b. Albert Wegener
c. Alvin Wegener

3. According to the continental drift theory, millions of years ago, there was a supercontinent that separated into the
continents that we have today. That supercontinent is called _______________.

4. Outermost layer of the earth is called

a. mantle
b. crust
c. inner core
5-6 (Lithosphere is composed up of _______________ and ____________)

7-8. (2 types of crust)

9-10. less dense thicer continental

More dense thinner