The Changing Earth

Chapter 1: Plate Tectonics

Section 1.1

Earth Has Several Layers

Earth is made up of materials

with different densities.
Theory: Earth began as a spinning mass of rocks
and dust 5 (16?) billion years ago.
Explosions from comets and asteroids, and
pressure of Earths gravity, produce enough
heat to melt materials inside Earth.
Dense material sank to the Earths center, less
dense material moved toward the surface,
forming Earths layers.

See Page 10

See Page 11

Earths layers have different

properties.
Earths Layers
Layer

Composition

Inner Core

solid metals

Outer Core

liquid metals

Mantle

heated rock

Crust

Cooler rock

Temperature

Thickness

7000-8000C 2400 km
diameter
4400-6100 C 2300 km
thick
870-4400 C 2900 km
thick
0-700 C
6-70 km thick

Continued

Earths crust and the top of the

mantle form the lithosphere.
The lithosphere sits on a layer of
hotter, softer rock in the upper
mantle called the asthenosphere.

The lithosphere is made up of

many plates.

Continued

The lithosphere is split into large and

small slabs of rocks called tectonic
plates, which fit together like a jigsaw
puzzle.
Most large plates contain both continental
and oceanic crust.
Tectonic plates provide evidence of
continental movement that supports the
theory of Pangaea.

See Page 13

Section 1.2

Continents Change
Position Over Time.

Continents join together

and split apart.
Alfred Wegener proposed the theory
of continental drift in early 1900s
All continents were once joined and
gradually moved apart (still moving).
Fossils, studies of ancient climates, and
rock formations provide evidence.
Africa and Brazil have matching rock
formations indicating they were once joined.

See Page 16

Wegners theorized that all the continents

were once a single landmass.

See Page 15

Wegner used fossil evidence to support

his continental drift theory.

The theory of plate tectonics

explains how plates and their
continents move.
Wegeners theory and sea floor maps
were used to develop the theory of
plate tectonics.
Along spreading centers in the sea
floor, melted rock rises through
cracks, cools, and forms new crust
that builds up mid-ocean ridges.

Continued: Mid Ocean Ridge at Spreading Center

Continued

Old crust gets pushed aside and the

sea floor slowly spreads apart.
Earth DOESNT get larger because
oceanic crust is destroyed along
deep-ocean trenches, where the
oceanic plates sink into the
asthenosphere.

See Page 18

See Page 19

Section 1.3

Plates Move Apart

Tectonic plates have different

boundaries.
Plate boundary: where the edges of
two plates meet
Divergent Boundary: occurs where plates
move apart, usually found in the ocean
Convergent Boundary: occurs when plates
push together.
Transform Boundary: occur when plates
scrape past each other.

Divergent Boundary

Convergent Boundary

Transform Boundary

The sea floor spreads apart at

divergent boundaries.
Mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys
occur at divergent boundaries in the
ocean.
Mid-ocean ridges form the longest
mountain ranges on earth.
Most contain a rift valley along their
center.

See Page 23

Continued

See Page 24

Earths magnetic poles have switched

places several times.

See Page 24

These magnetic reversals are caused by changes in Earths

magnetic fields. Bands of rock record periods of magnetic
reversals. As molten material cools, magnetic minerals line up
with the magnetic field. When it hardens, the minerals act like
tiny compass needles.

Continents split apart at

divergent boundaries.
Divergent boundaries on continents
produce rift valleys.
Magma rises through cracks and forms
volcanoes.
As rift valleys grow wider, continents split
apart.
If the valley continues to widen, the thinned
floor sinks below sea level.
It may fill with water to form a sea or lake.

See Page 26

Hot spots can be used to track

plate movements.
Hot Spot: an area of volcanic activity
that develops above where magma
rises in a plume from the mantle.

Can be used to measure plate movement

because it generally stays in one place as
the tectonic plate above it moves.
Can provide a fixed point for measuring
the speed and direction of plate
movements.

The Hawaiian islands are located in the middle

of the Pacific Plate. The largest island, Hawaii,
is still over the hot spot.

See Page 28

When the plate moves on, it carries the first volcano away
from the hot spot. Heat from the mantle plume will then
melt the rock at a new site, forming a new volcano.

Section 1.4

Plates
Converge or
Scrape
Past Each
Other.

Tectonic plates push together

and form three types of
convergent boundaries.
Continentalcontinental collision:
Two continental
plates collide,
crumpling and
folding the rock
between them.
Mountains could
form.

Continued

Oceanic-oceanic subductions: two oceanic

plates collide and the older, denser plate sinks
beneath the top plate, forming deep-ocean
trenches and island arcs.

Continued

Oceanic-continental subductions: an oceanic

plate sinks beneath a continental plate, forming
a deep-ocean trench and volcanic coastal
mountains.

See Page 32

Tectonic plates scrape past each

other at transform boundaries.
Two plates move
past each other in
opposite directions.
No crust is formed
or destroyed.
Occurs on the sea
floor and on land.

The San Andreas Fault is a transform

boundary and moves about 1 inch per year.

See Page 35

Boundaries are
formed when
tectonic plates
move. The
direction of the
movement
determines the
type of
boundary.

Comparing Boundaries
Divergent
Transform
Convergent
C-C Collision

Convergent

O-O Subduction

Convergent

O-C Subduction

*plates move apart *in ocean and on

land *produce mid-ocean ridges, rift
valleys, volcanoes, earthquakes
*plates move past each other in
opposite directions *in ocean and on
land
*crumples and folds crust * produces
mountains, earthquakes
*older, denser plate sinks *produce
deep-ocean trenches, island arcs
*oceanic plate sinks under
continental plate * forms deep-ocean
trench, volcanic coastal mountains

The theory of plate tectonics

helps geologists today.
The plate tectonics
theory enables
geologists to
understand how
Earths continents and
ocean basins formed.
Helps scientists
predict earthquakes
and volcanic activity.