Modeling the Lithosphere

Introduction
The lithosphere is composed of the crust, which can either be continental or oceanic,
and the upper part of the mantle. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the rigid
lithosphere is broken into independent segments called plates. The currently identified
major plates are the Eurasian plate, Australian-Indian plate, Pacific plate, North
American plate, South American plate, African plate and Antarctic plate. Please plates
consist of smaller sub plates.

Objectives
• Examine the edges and position of the major tectonic plates
• Familiarize oneself with the major tectonic plates
• Make a model of earth’s lithosphere

Procedure
1. Watch the experiment that is happening in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Hr7V1S0pI
2. Take a screenshot of the part where in continents are moving away with each
other.
 3. Paste the screenshot on the designated space below.

Answer Sheet

Name of Group Members 1. Mark Piedad

2. Lancelot Soriano
3. Clarence Catipon
4. Jaden Biscante

*Insert Screenshot here:

Guide Questions:

1. Based on the diagram above, which of the continents are relatively larger?
Which are smaller?
- The Pacific plate appears to be bigger than the other plates, as seen in
the diagram above. The Juan de Fuca plate is the smallest tectonic plate.
2. What are the materials that were used in the experiment? What do they
represent?
- The hot pot, milk, and cocoa powder were among the ingredients utilized
in the experiment. The heated pot represents the heat from the Earth (the
heat source), followed by the milk, which represents the Earth's mantle,
and finally the cocoa powder, which represents the Earth's crust.
3. Describe how plates moved based on what was simulated on the video.
- In the beginning of the video, like the lava lamp, when hotter material rises to
the surface and colder material sinks to the bottom, convection occurs. Hot
material is less dense in the cooler material around it, it rises. Because the
earth is very hot in the center, it reheats the cool mantle, which rises, cools,
and sinks. According to the experiment, stimulating the movement of the
earth's plate may be accomplished by combining cocoa powder and milk in
a pot and heating it with a hot plate. Convection is what moves the hot
chocolate as the milk boils. The hot chocolate crust begins to crack and form
a continent after a few minutes. The milk, which represents the hot mantle,
bubbles up as more of the hot cocoa crust melts, and the continents begin to
shift and move. The same convection mechanisms that are responsible for
plate tectonics on Earth are at work in this hot cocoa experiment.