Plate Tectonics
Betty Szekely and Kylie Ford
Earth’s Crust: The outermost layer of the Earth, broken into
tectonic plates
Earth’s Mantle: Layer of Earth underneath the crust that flows and
makes the tectonic plates move
Plate Boundaries: Where tectonic plates meet
Graham Cracker Plate Tectonics
• You will need:
• Paper plate with cool whip
• Four whole graham crackers (broken in half)
• A cup of water
Transform Boundaries
The San Andreas Fault in California is one example of a transform boundary.
Divergent Boundaries
An example of a divergent boundary is the East African Rift Valley.
Convergent Boundaries
An example of a convergent boundary is found on the western coast of South America.
Subduction Zone
A subduction zone is the cause of the Aleutian Islands.
Questions
• Which plate boundary causes the crust to grind against each other as they move past each other in opposite directions?
• Which plate boundary causes the crust to move away from one another?
• Which plate boundary causes the crust to collide, causing mountains to form?
• What happens in a subduction zone?
Answers
• Transform
• Divergent
• Convergent
• Denser oceanic plates thrust under less dense continental plates