Plate Tectonics: Convection

Learning Target:Develop a model based on evidence of Earth’s interior to describe the cycling of matter by thermal convection.

Success Criteria:

  • Describe the Earth’s interior in cross-section (crust, mantle, liquid outer core, solid inner core) determined by density.
  • Describe how radioactive decay and residual thermal energy from the formation of the Earth as a source of energy.
  • Describe the process of convection that causes hot matter to rise and cool matter to fall producing tectonic activity.
  • Describe how matter is cycled between the crust and the mantle at plate boundaries.

Vocabulary:

  • Core – is the center of the Earth.Outer core is molten metal, inner core is solid metal
  • Mantle - Very hot and mostly solid
  • Crust - Thin, cool, rocky outer “skin”
  • Paleomagnetism - the study of the record of the Earth's magnetic field in rocks, sediment, or archeological materials
  • Radioactive decay - spontaneous breakdown of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of energy and matter from the nucleus.
  • Convection - the transfer of heat by the circulation or movement of the heated parts of a liquid or gas.

Article: Sumner, Thomas. "Plate tectonics just a stage in Earth's life cycle." Science News. N.p., 16 June 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.

  1. What is the purpose of the article?
  1. When did the process of plates moving start?
  1. Why did this process not occur earlier?
  1. How does plate tectonics regulate the Earth’s atmosphere?
  1. How are warmer and colder planets different?

Classwork/Homework:

  1. In the diagram of the ocean basin, where is the oldest oceanic crust found?
    A. AC. C
    B. BD. D
  2. How is the crust different from the other layers of the Earth?
    A. It is hotter.B. It is thinner.
    C. It is mostly liquid.D. It is under pressure.
  3. __ currents in the Earth’s mantle cause movement which causes earthquakes and volcanic activity.
    A. ConductionC. Ocean
    B. ConvectionD. Radiation
  4. Convection in the upper mantle, magma injection at the spreading boundaries, and gravity pulling the plates downward at subduction zones are three theorized causes of _.
    A. glacial meltingC. high and low ocean tides
    B. changing of the climateD. movement of the tectonic plates
  5. Layer B in the diagram above is located between the crust and core in terms of location, temperature, and pressure. What part of the earth is labeled layer B?
    A. coreC. mantle
    B. crustD. lithosphere
  6. Earthquake epicenters were mapped for a 35-year period in the diagram above. The black dots marking the epicenters also represent what feature on Earth?
    A. hot spots
    B. rift zones
    C. plate boundaries
    D. sea floor spreading
  1. What is the main method of heat transfer from the core to the crust of the Earth?
    A. conductionC. insulation
    B. convectionD. radiation
  2. S-waves are transverse waves generated by earthquakes. These do not travel through liquids. Because of this, scientists have inferred that the _ of the Earth is liquid.
    A. crustC. outer core
    B. mantleD. inner core
  3. Which layer of the earth contains granite and basalt in the greatest abundance?
    A. inner coreC. mantle
    B. crustD. outer core
  1. What is the densest part of Earth?
    A. coreC. lithosphere
    B. crustD. mantle
  2. When mantle rocks near the radioactive core are heated, they become less dense than the cooler, upper mantle rocks. These warmer rocks rise, while the cooler rocks sink. This movement of warmer and cooler mantle rocks creates pockets of circulation within the mantle called _, which are thought to be the force behind the movement of tectonic plates over the asthenosphere.
    A. magma flowsC. convection cells
    B. density cellsD. conduction points
  3. Geologists trying to drill into the mantle would most likely drill from a platform in the ocean, rather than on land, because the crust beneath the ocean is _.
    A. olderC. thinner
    B. softerD. less dense
  4. Earth’s lithosphere contains all but one of the features below. This is the _.
    A. crustC. upper mantle
    B. coreD. continental and oceanic plates
  5. Earth’s layers formed as result of differentiation. During differentiation, different zones of elements form layers and today we know these layers are made up of different elements. Certain elements sunk to the center while others collected near the surface. We might predict that the _ elements, like iron and nickel, formed the core.
    A. most denseC. light weight
    B. least denseD. first crystallized
  1. Trace the development of plate tectonics by placing the supporting evidence in correct chronological order.

  1. Mapping paleomagnetic reversals
  2. Wegener’s mapping of the supercontinent Pangaea
  3. GPS tracking of Earth’s crustal movements
  4. Discovery of seafloor spreading

A. A, B, C, DC. B, C, A, C
B. B, C, C, CD. D, B, A, C

  1. Which layer is broken up into several plates which move and float very slowly? Their very slow motion is the cause of plate tectonics, a process associated with continental drift, earthquakes, volcanoes, and the formation of mountains.
    A. inner coreC. asthenosphere
    B. outer coreD. lithosphere