The Theory of Plate Tectonics -

Boundaries,
Stresses,
and Faults
1. What is the theory of plate tectonics?
2. What are the three types of plate boundaries?
 What are Plates?
• The ________________
Earths crust and upper mantel

___________________
lithosphere

_________________
are broken into sections
called plates.

Plates move around on top of the mantle like rafts

A section of the lithosphere that slowly moves

over the __________________,
asthenosphere carrying pieces
of continental and oceanic crust.
 What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
The theory that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in
convection currents in the mantel
constant motion, driven by _______________________
__________.
• Plates move
slowly in
different
directions
❑ Cause different
geologic events
like earthquakes
(____________
volcanos, etc
____________,
etc.)
 What makes the plates move?

Convection Currents core heats the

in the mantle move the plates as the __________
slowly-flowing asthenosphere
_______________________________________ (the elastic/plastic-like
part of the mantle).
The edges of Earth’s plates
plate boundaries
meet at ________________
_______________________.

❖Extended deep into the

lithosphere
_____________
FAULT – Breaks in Earth’s crust where
rocks have slipped past each other.
 What are the three types of
boundaries?
Divergent Boundaries
• ____________________________
• ____________________________
Convergent Boundaries

• ____________________________
Transform Boundaries
 Divergent Boundaries
away from
A plate boundary where two plates move _________
________________
each other

→
RIFTING
causes
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
How is the rock pulled at Divergent
Boundaries?

Rock gets THIN in the middle as it is

________________
pulled apart

This STRESS is called

What happens when the rock SNAPS
from the Stress of Tension?

A _________________
normal fault
(fault is a break in
Earth’s crust)
Rock _______________as
drops
it breaks
 What happens next at Divergent Boundaries?

• A geologic feature or
event…
May form rift
valleys
__________________
on continents

sea floor spreading

___________________
in the ocean
 Helpful Hints…
dividing
• Divergent is like ________________________

• If you pull warm bubble gum or silly putty, it

will thin in the middle until it is stressed so
much that it breaks.

• Happens on land
& under H2O
 Features of Divergent Boundaries
Mid-ocean ridges
• __________________
• __________________
rift valleys

• __________________
fissure volcanoes
 How is the rock pushed at convergent
boundaries?
A plate boundary where two plates move
Towards each other
__________________
Boundaries between two
colliding
plates that are ___________

→ 

Compression
This stress is called ___________________
Convergent Boundaries

• Places
where
Plates crash
__________
(or crunch)
together or
subduct
__________
(one sinks
under)
 There are 3 types of Convergent
Boundaries…

ocean plate
_________________colliding with a less dense
_____________________
continental plate

___________________:
subduction zone The process by which
oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean
trench and back into the mantle at a
convergent plate boundary.
There are 3 types of Convergent
Boundaries…
What else happens at Convergent Boundaries?

volcanos
__________
occur at
subduction
zones
Andes Mountains, South America
 ocean plate
• __________________ colliding with another
__________________.
ocean plate

• The less dense plate slides under the more dense

plate creating a __________________
subductiion zone called a
trenches
________.
Aleutian Islands, Alaska
• A __________________
continental plate
colliding with another
continental plate
___________________.
• Have Collision Zones:
–A place where _________ folded and ___________
thrust faulted

_________________form.
mountains
 mountain Ranges
• May form _____________________.
Himalayas or the
These are Folded Mountains, like the ____________
___________________.
Rockies
What happens when the rock is squeezed
from the Stress of Compression?
• A _________________
reverse fault

• Rock is forced _____________

upward
as it is
squeezed.
 Helpful Hints…
• Convergent = “Connecting” boundaries
• May work like a trash compactor smashing
rock.
– Rock goes crunches up to make folded mountains.
– Rock goes down “under” @ subduction zone.
 Transform Boundaries
past each
A plate boundary where two plates move ________
__________________________________.
other in opposite direction
 How is the rock broken at Transform
Boundaries?
• Rock is pushed in
two _________
opposite

____________(or
directions

sideways, but no
rock is lost)

• This stress is
called _________
shearing
 What happens next at Transform Boundaries?

• May cause
earthquakes
______________
when the rock
snaps from the
pressure.
• A famous fault @
a Transform
Boundary is the
san andreas fault
______________
_________in
California.
San Andreas Fault, CA
What happens when the rock is sheared
(or “cut”) from the Stress of Shearing?
• A ____________________
strike-slip fault

• Rocks on each side of the fault ________

slip past

______________________
each other
as they break.
 Helpful Hints…
• ______________________________(“Shears”
Shearing means cutting

are like scissors)

• Transform boundaries run like trains going
past each other in different directions & they
shake the ground!
Plate Boundaries:

Can you match the

boundary name
correctly with its
diagram?

Divergent
A._____________
B._____________
convergent
098m 980/transform0
C._____________
 Plate Boundaries:

• Correct Answers:

A.Divergent
B. Convergent
C. Transform