Plate tectonics (MS-HS)
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large-scale motion of Earth's lithosphere. The lithosphere is the outer rigid layer of the earth and it is divided into “plates” that move around on the earth’s surface relative to each other. The movement of these plates occur do to convection currents and other forces. The movement of these plates has formed the many different landscapes that we see across the globe today such as mountains.
objectives
• Understand how Earth is dynamic and how moving plates form ocean basins, mountain ranges, islands, volcanoes, and earthquakes
• Identify the three general categories of plate boundaries recognized by scientists: convergent, divergent, and transform
• Use acquired knowledge to identify several types of modern volcanic eruptions around the world and to understand why we have different types of landscapes around the world.
Topic(s)
Plate tectonics
type
Middle and high school lesson
7-12
Grade(s):
time needed
6 hours
author
NATURE
national next gen standards
north dakota standards
9-10.5.3. Explain how energy in the Earth system is governed by convection, conduction, and radiation (e.g., heat moves in the Earth’s mantle by convection, conduction occurs along the mid-oceanic ridges, energy from the Sun reaches the Earth through radiation)
9-10.5.4. Identify the short-term and long-term effects of physical processes (e.g., plate tectonics, extreme weather phenomenon) on the environment and society
9-10.5.5. Analyze how evidence of past natural hazards and geologic events has predicted subsequent hazards and events (e.g. Gap time method to predict earthquakes and tsunamis)