Week 10: Layers of Earth, Convection Cells, and Plate Tectonics

 

     What did you do in lab?

In lab we did a lab that shows the different types of tectonic plate movements. A convergent boundary is when one plate dives under another. A convergent boundary forms a mountain. A real-life example of this is the Himalaya Mountains in India. We watched a video about the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is the cause. Continental drift is the effect of the movement. Scientists are starting to find new species in the trench in the ocean every day.

We did an activity that showed the transform boundary, divergent boundary, and convergent boundary. We used graham crackers, rice cakes, and whipped cream to show the different types of boundaries. The whipped cream was the “magma” and it pushed up to fill the gaps.





·       What was the big question?

The big question we discussed was: What are plate tectonics and how are they related to earthquakes and volcanoes?

·       What did you do in Thursdays discussion?

These are my notes from Thursdays discussion:

10/30/2025

Earthquakes

·       The further away you are from the earthquake, the less likely you are to feel it

·       Underwater earthquakes = tsunamis

·       Ancient fault lines or human fracking causes earthquakes to occur in areas that are off the normal pathway

Volcanoes

·       Yellowstone= super volcanoes

·       Pipeline of melted magma “shuts off” = volcano becomes inactive

·       Inactive volcanoes can become active again due to a variety of factors such as shifting of plate tectonics

·       We cannot predict when a volcano is going to erupt again

Question- What is occurring at the mid-Atlantic ridge?

Answer- the plates are moving apart from one another (diverging)

Question- What happens to the age of the ocean basin as you move from the middle of toward ..

Answer- it gets younger

Question- Which observation about the mid-Atlantic ridge region provides the best evidence that the seafloor has been spreading for millions of years?

Answer: Seafloor bedrock is younger near the ridge and older farther away

Question- True or false: ocean sea floors spread at a consistent rate over time?

Answer: False

Question- Sea floor spreading is measured using what scale?

Answer: mm/yr

·       Oceanic hits oceanic

o   Mountains

·       Continental hits continental

o   Mountains

Review of topics covered in this unit:

·       Geologic time

·       Rocks and the rock cycle

·       Geodes

o   The longer the time = the bigger the crystals will form

o   The material in the geode has specific gravity equal to 2.7

o   If it is less than 2.7, this tells us that there is a percentage of the geode that is hallow

o   If it is greater than 2.7, it isn’t considered a geode

o   We can use science and math to tell how hallow it is

·       Law of superposition

o   Gravity lays each layer down flat

o   The bottom layer is the oldest

o   If a fault (a break) occurs, magma will come up in between the layers

§  It will come up from the bottom and eventually lay down horizontally

o   Watch paint brush geology video in the textbook

·       Sand

·       Fossils

·       Erosion/weathering

·       Earthquakes, volcanoes, and hot spots

·       Layers of the earth, convention cells, plate tectonics

 

·       Read the online textbook chapter 2. 

 

o   What did you learn?

One thing I learned from the textbook chapter is that the earth has four layers. The outer layer is called the crust. It is the thinnest layer and is made of oceanic and continental plates. The next layer is the mantel, which is the thickest layer. Part of the mantel is made of magma, which causes the plate tectonics to shift. The next layer is the outer core. It is made of iron and nickel in liquid form because of the high temperature. The liquid is slowly moving in a circular motion, which forms a magnetic field causing compasses to always point north. The inner core of the earth is composed of iron and nickel too. This layer is in a solid form.

o   What was most helpful?

Something that was especially helpful to me was learning about convection currents and how plate tectonics work. I was able to connect the information in the book about this to the experiment that we did for homework last week. I have always been confused about what force has the power to move earth’s plates. Now I understand that convection currents drive this movement.

o   What do you need more information on?

Something I need more information on is: Do all planets have different layers and has there been as much change on them as there has been on earth?

·       What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have?

I do not have any further questions or comments. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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