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Science 10
Week 1-Lesson 1
The Plate Tectonics
(First quarter)arter) er)

MISSION
To train and
excellent, teachand
eclectic Christian Young People
Bible-Integrated with an
pre-school,
elementary
theyand
thatcommittedsecondary
might wholly curricula and
equipped and co-curricula,
scripturally so
and principled persons for life.
 Train up a child in the way he should go:

and when he is old, he will not go

and depart from it.
-Proverbs 22:6

Lesson
1 The Plate Tectonics
\

Specific Learning Objectives

Describe the distribution of active volcanoes, earthquake epicenters,
and major mountain belts.
Describe the different types of plate boundaries.
Explain the different processes that occur along the plate boundaries.

Essential Question/s

What is the relationship among the locations of

volcanoes, earthquakes, epicenters, and mountain
ranges?

Let’s Explore together!

Understanding Ourselves
What is Plate Tectonics?
Earth’s lithosphere consists of layers, the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The
lithosphere (solid part of the Earth) is composed of three major layers, the
crust(outermost layer), the mantle (the middles layer), and the core (the innermost layer).
The Earth’s crust is composed of several broken plates that move continuously. These
movements are caused by the properties and processes that occur in the Earth’s interior.
Due to intense heat in the Earth’s interior, the molten rock (magma) in the mantle moves
in a cyclic pattern forming convection cells (Figure 1.1).

Fig. 1.1 convection cell

- There are two kinds of crust: the thicker but less dense continental crust and the
oceanic crust which is relatively thinner but denser than continental crust.

- It was Alfred Wegener, an Austrian climatologist, who first noted the theory on
the movement of the Earth’s land masses and is known today as the modern Plate
Tectonic Theory(Oskin, 2017). This theory states that the Earth’s crust is
composed of several broken plates that continuously move either away, past, or
towards each other.

Theories on the movement of the lithosphere:

1. Continental Drift theory (Alfred Wegener) (Oskin, 2017)

- This theory states that the Earth was once composed of only one supercontinent called
Pangaea. Through time, this supercontinent split into two sub-continents, Laurasia and
Gondwanaland. Million years further, Laurasia split into a few smaller continents
forming the continents in the northern hemisphere of the Earth. This includes Asia,
Europe, North America,South America, and Africa. On the other hand, the continents of
the southern hemisphere, Australia and Antarctica, are the two continents divided from
Gondwanaland.

2. Seafloor Spreading Theory (www.divediscover.whoi.edu)

- Proposed by Harry Hess of Princeton University

- States that the seafloor is continuously spreading and the extra crust gets recycled into
the mantle

3. Plate Tectonics Theory (www.ck12.org; Oskin, 2017)

- States that the crust is composed of different plates which move either towards,away or
past each other.

- The modern version of the Continental Drift Theory of Alfred Wegener

- The Process of Plate of boundaries

Plate boundaries are active regions between the tectonic plates. There are three
distinct types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform.

- According to plate tectonics model, the entire lithosphere of the Earth is broken
into numerous segments called plates (see Figure 2).
 Fig. 2.

Investigate

Activity 1. In the figure below, identify and list down the different tectonic plates
in the world (15 points). Write your answer in the box provided
Figure 1.2. The Tectonic Plate of the World (Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov)

Acitivity 3:

The Plate Tectonic states that there was once a supercontinent, Pangaea, that broke into
smaller continents of today. Identify the numbered pieces as to what continent or land
mass it is today.
Activity 3: Head-On Collision

Part A: Converging Continental Plate and Oceanic Plate

Objectives:
• Explain the processes that occur along convergent boundaries.
• Determine the consequences of colliding plates.

Procedure:
1. Study Figure 10 showing a cross-sectional diagram of plates that are
converging, and answer the questions that follow

Figure 10. Cross-sectional diagram of converging continental and oceanic plates

Guide questions:
Q1. What type of plate is Plate A? What about Plate B? Why do you
say so?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Q 2. Describe what happens to Plate A as it collides with Plate B?

Why?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Q3. What do you think may happen to the leading edge of Plate A as
it continues to move downward? Why?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Q4. What do you call this molten material?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Q5. What is formed on top of Plate B?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Q6. As the plates continue to grind against each other, what other
geologic event could take place?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Multiple choice: Encircle the letter of the best answer.

1. What is the largest plate in the lithosphere?

a. Pacific Plate c. Philippine Plate
b. Juan de Fuca Plate d. North American Plate
2. Which of the following is true about plate boundaries ?
a. All boundaries are areas for lithosphere formation.
b. All boundaries are areas for lithosphere destruction
c. Boundaries are active sites for volcanic and seismic activities.
d. Boundaries are static sites with minimal volcanic and seismic activities.
3. Which of the following is true about the lithosphere?
a. Lithosphere plates are static structures.
b. The lithosphere was once a single mass.
c. Oceanic lithosphere is denser than continental lithospehere
d. None of the preceeding
4. What type of boundary involves lithosphere destruction?
a. Divergent
b. Convergent
c. Transform fault
d. None of the above
5. Which is true about a convection cell?
a. Hot rocks rise and cool rocks rise.
b. Hot rocks sink and cool rocks rise.
c. Rocks in the mantle are stationary
d. None of the above.
6. What is believed to be the cause of earthquakes along plate boundaries?
a. Cooling of new seafloor
b. Friction between sliding plates
 c. Melting of subducting lithosphere
d. Upwelling of hit materials from the mantle
7. What occurs along a divergent ?
a. Destruction of lithosphere
b. Collision between two plates
c. Formation of new lithosphere
d. Subduction of denser lithosphere

8. Transform boundaries are zones where plates

a.slide past each other
b. move together, causing one to go beneath the other
c.move apart, leaving a gap
d. cause sea-floor spreading

9. Plates move towards each other along

a. divergent plate boundaries
b. transform fault boundaries
10. Subduction zones are associated with
a.divergent plate boundaries
b.transform fault boundaries
c. convergent plate boundaries
d. all of these
c. convergent plate boundaries.
d. all of the above

REFERENCES:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ziux5KnwkU_S0-
HeVnFwevcoKc2Vt7sn?fbclid=IwAR0r-
0m3RH180s5M4ZCnhlhjG4VgQ8_ExY5yyJQhkTzC1FMIlGFoYYzkO
ew

Bagley, Mary. 2018. Volcano Facts and Types of Volcanoes. Accessed

Online, Available at:
https://www.livescience.com/27295-volcanoes.html, Accessed 22 June 2020

Delos Reyes, Perla J., et. al. 2017. A Synthesis and Review of Historical
Eruption at TaalVolcano, Southern Luzon, Philippines. Accessed Online,
Available2020:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S00128252
16304068, Accesse22 June 2020
Dorward, Lisa. 2018. Classification of Volcanoes. Accessed Online,
Available at
https://sciencing.com/classification-volcanoes-8442589.html, Accessed 22
June 2020

Oskin, Becky. 2017. Continental Drift: Theory and Definition. Accessed

Online, Available at:https://www.livescience.com/37529-continental-
drift.html#:~:text=Continental%20drift%20was%20a%20theory,are
%20found%20on%20
-

“God will never leave your side. Don’t be afraid, be strong and don’t be discourage”
Joshua 1: 9

Prepared By:

Melerose f. Dela Serna

Science Teacher
For further inquiries, please feel free to contact me at
09075080831