Liz LaRosa for use with my 5th Grade Science Class http://www.middleschoolscience.com 2009

The Earth's rocky outer crust solidified billions of years ago, soon after the Earth formed.

This crust is not a solid shell; it is broken up into huge, thick plates that drift atop the soft, underlying mantle.

__________layer 5 –_____km thick Made of Oxygen, Silicon,

Aluminum

• Layer of Earth _______the _______and the ____

• Contains ______of the Earth’s _________

• Has more magnesium and less aluminum and silicon than the crust

• Is _________than the crust

Asthenosphere: from greek word “______”. Zone of weak, easily deformed rock in the

upper mantle. Lithosphere: from greek word “_______”.

________on the asthenoshpere Includes all of the _______and part of the

upper _________. ________rigid portion of the Earth Divided into ________major plates…

_____the ______and to the center of the Earth

Believed to be ________Iron, smaller amounts of Nickel, almost no Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum, or Magnesium

Greek – “tektonikos” of a _________ _________scientists use to explain

plate movementPieces of the lithosphere that

_____aroundEach plate has a _______Fit together like _________puzzlesFloat on top of ______similar to

____cubes in a bowl of water

Plates in __________motion….very slow Moves only few cm per year

Boundaries where plates _______are usually the site of _________and volcanoes

________of plates _______Earth’s _______to ________constantly and dramatically (crumpling rocks, folding them, stretching and cracking) Moves continents around globe Causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

Transfer of _______ ________take place _______a source of

heat. Ex. Hot water is less dense than cold

water and rises, causing convection currents which transport energy.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/unanswered.html

Plates move ______from each other along _______boundaries

Plates ______along a ________boundary Plates _____past each other along

_____fault boundaries

These plate movements have produced _____of the world’s volcanoes, earthquakes, high mountain ranges, and deep ocean trenches

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Continents.shtml

Alfred Wegener 1900’sContinents were once a _______land mass that ________apart.

________of the same plants and animals are found on different continents

Called this supercontinent _______, Greek for “all Earth”

______Million years ago

The continents and oceans are ____Earth’s ________.

Because plates ______, the continents we live on today were ______places in the past.

They will ______to ______in other positions in the future!

Mid Ocean Ridges – underwater _______ chains that run through the Earth’s Basins

______ _____to the surface and _____and _____crust forms

_____Crust is _____farther away from the ridge

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html

Caused by _____being pushed _____under a plate

Magma presses against _____ _____and stretches lithosphere until

it cracksMagma _____into the gap and _____to

form new crust

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html

http://www.geology.com

http://www.geology.com

_____kinds of collisions possible ______plate collide with ______plate: one of

the plates is pushed under the other.▪ The plate that is forced down, melts…creating

a trench _____ _______plates collide: one forced

under other.▪ Plates crumple and fold, forming mountain

ranges _____plate collides with _____plate: oceanic

plate forced downward.▪ Mountains and volcanoes form along the

boundary between plates

80% of the worlds volcanoes and 90% of all earthquakes occur along convergent boundaries!!!

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html & http://www.geology.com

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html & http://www.geology.com

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html & http://www.geology.com

_____plates move past each other in _____directions

www.geology.com

95% of all earthquakes occur at or near the edges of moving plates, along great cracks in Earth’s crust called faults.

As plates ______to move, rocks put under great ______ Rocks bend and stretch until they reach

their ______point Suddenly, rocks ______and move into

______positions A jolt on energy is released

▪ Felt as ______▪ (watch YOU TUBE video)

A volcano is a ______that may form around the ______as the lava cinders build up

Occurs at ______boundaries

______, or molten rock beneath Earth’s surface is ______up through an ______in Earth’s surface. Molten rock _____as lava Hot molten _____is pushed ______to form

______mountains

In the South Pacific the water is much warmer than normal.  Environmentalists have said that Global Warming causes it.  Other Scientists have noted there is a substantial amount of volcanic activity in that same area.  It has a tendency to warm water, also.  Here’s an interesting set of photos.

Name the 3 main layers of the Earth What is a tectonic plate? What was Pangea? What is Sea-Floor spreading? Name the three different types of

plate boundaries and one location on Earth for each one

What are earthquakes and how do they happen?

What are volcanoes and how do they form?