DepEd Learners' Material: Science 10
Unit 1: Earth and Space
Module 1: Plate Tectonics
Overview
MODULE OVERVIEW
• THIS MODULE INTRODUCES LEARNERS TO
THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF PLATE
TECTONICS.
• IT EXPLORES THE VARIOUS EVIDENCES
THAT SUPPORT THE THEORY AND EXPLAINS
THE PROCESSES INVOLVED IN THE
MOVEMENT OF EARTH'S LITHOSPHERIC
PLATES.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
UPON COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE, LEARNERS SHOULD
BE ABLE TO:
• DESCRIBE THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACTIVE VOLCANOES,
EARTHQUAKE EPICENTERS, AND MAJOR MOUNTAIN
BELTS.
• EXPLAIN THE PROCESSES THAT OCCUR ALONG THE
DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES.
• CITE EVIDENCES THAT SUPPORT THE THEORY OF PLATE
TECTONICS.
• RELATE PLATE MOVEMENTS TO THE FORMATION OF
DIFFERENT LANDFORMS AND GEOLOGICAL EVENTS.
PRE-TEST
WHAT ARE THE THREE MAIN LAYERS
OF THE EARTH?
a) CLOUDS, OCEAN, LAND
b) CORE, MANTLE, CRUST
c) AIR, WATER, ROCKS
d) MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, PLAINS
PRE-TEST
WHICH OF THESE NATURAL EVENTS IS
NOT TYPICALLY CAUSED BY MOVEMENT
DEEP WITHIN THE EARTH?
a) EARTHQUAKES
b) VOLCANOES
c) HURRICANES
d) MOUNTAIN BUILDING
PRE-TEST
TRUE OR FALSE: THE CONTINENTS ON
EARTH HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN THE SAME
PLACE.
PRE-TEST
CAN YOU NAME ONE PLACE ON EARTH
WHERE YOU KNOW A LOT OF
EARTHQUAKES OR VOLCANOES HAPPEN?
WHAT DO YOU THINK "TECTONIC"
MIGHT MEAN IN THE PHRASE "PLATE
TECTONICS"?
PRE-TEST
Where are Volcanoes,
Earthquakes, and
Mountains Located?
DISTRIBUTI • Active Volcanoes: Often found
along plate boundaries, forming
ON OF "rings" (e.g., Pacific Ring of Fire).
GEOLOGICA • Earthquake Epicenters:
L FEATURES Concentrated along fault lines and
plate boundaries, indicating active
geological processes.
• Major Mountain Belts: Formed
by the collision of tectonic plates
(e.g., Himalayas, Andes).
DISTRIBUTION OF GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
DISTRIBUTION OF GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
DISTRIBUTION OF GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
Figure 7: Mountain ranges of the world
Eurasian plate
Pacific plate
North American plate
7 LARGE
South American plate
PLATES
African plate
Indo - Australian plate
Antarctic plate
Nazca plate
Philippine plate
Cocos plate
MINOR/
Caribbean plate
SMALLER Scotia plate
PLATES Juan de Fuca plate
Easter plate
Juan Fernandez plate
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
UNDERSTANDING PLATE
INTERACTIONS
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES:
• PLATES MOVE TOWARDS EACH OTHER.
• OCEANIC-OCEANIC: SUBDUCTION,
VOLCANIC ISLAND ARCS, DEEP OCEAN
TRENCHES.
• OCEANIC-CONTINENTAL: SUBDUCTION,
VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN RANGES, TRENCHES.
• CONTINENTAL-CONTINENTAL: COLLISION,
FORMATION OF HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGES.
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
UNDERSTANDING PLATE
INTERACTIONS
DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES:
• PLATES MOVE AWAY FROM EACH OTHER.
• MAGMA RISES, CREATING NEW CRUST (E.G.,
MID-OCEAN RIDGES, RIFT VALLEYS).
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
UNDERSTANDING PLATE
INTERACTIONS
TRANSFORM FAULT BOUNDARIES:
• PLATES SLIDE PAST EACH OTHER
HORIZONTALLY.
• CAUSES FREQUENT EARTHQUAKES (E.G.,
SAN ANDREAS FAULT).
EVIDENCES FOR PLATE TECTONICS
WHAT SUPPORTS THE THEORY?
CONTINENTAL DRIFT HYPOTHESIS (ALFRED
WEGENER):
• FIT OF THE CONTINENTS (PANGAEA).
• FOSSIL EVIDENCE (E.G., MESOSAURUS, GLOSSOPTERIS).
• ROCK FORMATIONS AND MOUNTAIN RANGES ALIGNMENT.
• PALEOCLIMATIC EVIDENCE (ANCIENT GLACIATIONS).
EVIDENC
ES FOR
PLATE SEAFLOOR SPREADING (HARRY HESS):
TECTONI • MID-OCEAN RIDGES.
CS • MAGNETIC STRIPES ON THE OCEAN
FLOOR (PALEOMAGNETISM).
WHAT • AGE OF OCEANIC CRUST.
SUPPORT • HEAT FLOW.
S THE
THEORY?
PLATE MOVEMENTS AND
GEOLOGICAL EVENTS
HOW PLATES SHAPE OUR EARTH EARTHQUAKES?
• CAUSED BY THE SUDDEN RELEASE OF ENERGY DUE TO PLATE
MOVEMENT ALONG FAULTS.
• VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS: RESULT FROM MAGMA RISING TO THE
SURFACE, OFTEN AT SUBDUCTION ZONES OR DIVERGENT
BOUNDARIES.
• MOUNTAIN FORMATION: OCCURS DUE TO THE COLLISION AND
UPLIFT OF CRUST AT CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES.
• TSUNAMI: GIANT OCEAN WAVES OFTEN GENERATED BY
UNDERWATER EARTHQUAKES OR VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.
• FORMATION OF OCEAN BASINS AND TRENCHES: ASSOCIATED
WITH DIVERGENT AND CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES, RESPECTIVELY.
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
VOCABULARY TO
REMEMBER
• PLATE TECTONICS: THEORY EXPLAINING LARGE-SCALE
MOTION OF EARTH'S LITHOSPHERE.
• LITHOSPHERE: EARTH'S RIGID OUTER LAYER (CRUST AND
UPPERMOST MANTLE).
• ASTHENOSPHERE: PARTIALLY MOLTEN, DUCTILE LAYER
BENEATH THE LITHOSPHERE, ALLOWING PLATES TO MOVE.
• SUBDUCTION: PROCESS WHERE ONE TECTONIC PLATE SINKS
BENEATH ANOTHER.
• CONVECTION CURRENTS: DRIVING FORCE BEHIND PLATE
MOVEMENT WITHIN THE MANTLE.
• EPICENTER: POINT ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE DIRECTLY
ABOVE AN EARTHQUAKE'S FOCUS.
• FAULT: A FRACTURE OR ZONE OF FRACTURES BETWEEN TWO
BLOCKS OF ROCK.
SUMMARY & REFLECTION
• EARTH'S LITHOSPHERE IS DIVIDED INTO LARGE
PLATES THAT ARE CONSTANTLY MOVING.
• THE INTERACTION OF THESE PLATES AT
BOUNDARIES CAUSES EARTHQUAKES,
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY, AND MOUNTAIN
BUILDING.
• EVIDENCES LIKE CONTINENTAL FIT, FOSSIL
DISTRIBUTION, SEAFLOOR SPREADING, AND
PALEOMAGNETISM SUPPORT THE THEORY OF
PLATE TECTONICS.
