Quarter I:

EARTH SCIENCE
PLATE TECTONICS:
Earth’s Lithosphere
Week 1

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What's on
Earth?

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 Look the following words in the puzzle above.

mantle crust boundary

What's on
inner core earthquake
Earth? plates

outer core Lithosphere

Asthenosphere

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Main Layers of the
Earth
◉ 1. Three MAIN layers
    a. Core : metallic, made of iron &
nickel
    b. Mantle: semi-solid rock
    c. Crust: rigid, brittle, & thin layer of
rock

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Main Layers of the
Earth
The lithospheric plates either (Oceanic
Crust or Continental Crust) "float" on the
asthenosphere (is the outer most part of
the mantle) and move about the Earth's
surface.

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 The Lithosphere is
approximately 200 km thick
(under continental crust) and
breaks up into tectonic
plates.
The Lithosphere is the
"plate" of the Plate Tectonic
theory.
The base of the
Lithospheres is marked by a
"low-velocity" seismic zone
where seismic waves slow
down as they enter the warm,
plastic Asthenosphere.

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 The Asthenosphere
(weak sphere) is part of
the Mantle that flows, a
characteristic called
plastic behavior.
It might seem
strange that a solid
material can flow. A
good example of a solid
that flows is the
movement of toothpaste
in a tube.

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 The flow of the
Asthenosphere is part of
mantle convection, which plays
an important role in moving
Lithospheric plates.
The Asthenosphere is the
relatively warm, plastic
(possibly partially molten)
portion of the upper Mantle that
extends from as shallow as 10
km depth (at Mid-Ocean
Ridges) to approximately 700
km.

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Based on the image below, differentiate the continental and
oceanic crust.

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 There are two types of tectonic plates involve in the previous activities,
oceanic and continental plates. Differentiate these two using Venn Diagram. Use the
given choices in the box below for your answer
*dense *made up of mostly basalt *30-50 km thick

*less dense *moving *Types of Crust

*mostly made up of granite * younger

*older *solid *Part of Lithosphere

* 5-10 km thick *made up of rock

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 Ocean vs Continent

Characteristics Characteristics
of of
Oceanic Continental
Plate Plate

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 Each main layer is
subdivided
into more layers
◉ 1. The core is divided into....
    a. solid inner core
i. 1,250 km thick solid inner core

 ii. Temperature = 5500 to 7000 degree

C (almost as hot as the sun)
       
iii. Composed of nickel and iron, solid
due to extreme pressure

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 Each main layer is
subdivided
into more
◉ b. liquid outer layers
core
       
i. 2,200 km thick liquid outer core
       
ii. Temperature = 6100 to 4400 degree C
       
iii. Composed of molten nickel and iron
       
iv. outer core spins, creating the Earth’s
magnetic field that protects from solar
wind

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Mantle
◉ a. Lower mantle
        i. a.k.a., mesosphere
        ii. 2100 km thick
        iii. Hot, semi-solid rock
        iv. Consistency of hot asphalt
 b. Upper mantle
        i. Composed of two parts
1. Asthenosphere is semi-solid or
'plastic’ and is ~700 km thick

 2. Uppermost part of the mantle is

solid and ~100 km thick

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Crust
a. Oceanic crust
    i. Narrowest, 0-10 km
    ii. Made mostly of dense basalt
    iii. 2/3 of the Earth's surface
    iv. Younger than continental crust

b. Continental crust
    i. 35-70 km thick
    ii. Made mostly of less dense granite
    iii. covers 1/3 of Earth's surface

c. Combined with the uppermost part of

the mantle = lithosphere

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 Both
*Types of Crust
*Part of Lithosphere
*made up of rock
*moving
*solid
Oceanic crust Continental crust
*dense *less dense
*5-10 km thick *30-50 km thick
*younger *older
*made up of mostly basalt *mostly made up of granite

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 Even though plates move very slowly, their
motion, called plate tectonics , has a huge impact on
our planet.
Plate tectonics form the oceans, continents,
and mountains. It also helps us understand why and
where events like earthquakes occur and volcanoes
erupt.

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Map of Plate boundaries
As shown in the
above figure, there are
seven relatively large
plates and a number of
smaller ones, including
the 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

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 The Earth’s crust is not a solid shell. It is made up of thick,
interconnecting pieces called tectonic plates that fit together like a
puzzle. They move atop the underlying mantle, a really thick layer of
hot flowing rock.

 By examining evidence such as similar rock layers in various places,

fossilized desert belts, the distribution of fossils, and the physical
shapes of continents, scientists have concluded that the Earth’s
continents were once all connected to form a “supercontinent”
called Pangaea that was surrounded by an enormous ocean.

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 About 300 million years ago, Earth didn't have seven continents,
but instead one massive supercontinent called Pangaea, which was
surrounded by a single ocean called Panthalassa.

 The explanation for Pangaea's formation ushered in the modern

theory of plate tectonics, which posits that the Earth's outer shell is
broken up into several plates that slide over Earth's rocky shell, the
mantle.

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 Pangea began to break up about 200 million years
ago in the same way that it was formed:
through tectonic plate movement caused by mantle
convection.
Just as Pangea was formed through the movement of
new material away from rift zones, new material also
caused the supercontinent to separate.

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 Did You Know?

• Tectonic plates are made of both continental and oceanic

crust. The land that we see is the continental crust, about
30 kilometers (19 mi) thick. Under the sea, the heavier
oceanic crust is much thinner, about 8 to 10 kilometers (5
to 6 mi) thick.

• Plates move about 8 centimeters (3 in) per year. That’s

about as fast as a fingernail grows in a year!

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 The tallest mountains in the world are still growing. About 60
million years ago, the Himalayan Mountains formed when the
Indian Plate crashed into the 9 Eurasian Plate. Today the two
plates are still colliding, and the Himalayas continue to rise.

 Los Angeles sits on the Pacific Plate that is moving northwest

and San Francisco sits on the North American Plate that is
moving southeast. Moving towards each other at the rate of 5
centimeters (2 in) a year, someday these two cities may be
neighbors!

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 A Plate Tectonic Puzzle

Objectives Students will:

1.use logic and the evidence to reconstruct the position of large islands
and continents as they appeared 220 million years ago.
2. understand the theory of continental movement and plate tectonics.
3. describe how scientists use different kinds of evidence to form
theories.

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A Plate Tectonic Puzzle

Materials
• Globe or world map
• Answer page

Per group of students:

• Reproducible of instructions and continent
cutouts pages
• Scissors
• Glue or tape
• Sheet of paper
• Ruler or compass

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 Solve the puzzle to discover what the Earth looked like 220
million years ago.
1. What’s the code? Use the legend to identify the symbols on each
island or continent.
2. Puzzle me this. Look at the shapes of continents and islands. What
landmasses seem to fit together?
3. Let’s rock! Examine the evidence and try to match up landmass
boundaries that show similar rock strata, fossilized desert belts,
and dinosaur fossils.
4. Hold that Pose. Look over the arrangement of the continents and
islands and decide if the position of any of them should change.
When you are satisfied with your map of Pangaea, tape or glue it
down on the world map.

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 A Plate Tectonic Puzzle

Guide Questions:
1. Seems landmasses fit together? Why is it so?
2. Is there an evidence that all continents are belong to one land mass
only? Prove it base on what you have learned from the previous
lesson we have.
3. Finally, what are the scientific basis of lithospheric plate are moving

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THANKS!
Any questions?
You can find me at
@https://www.facebook.com/merlin.favila/

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