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    S3 2.2 Restless Earth 2 - Plate Tectonics

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    James
    The document summarizes plate tectonics and the structure of the Earth. [1] The Earth is made up of layers including a solid inner core, surrounded by the mantle and crust. [2] The crust is broken into plates that slowly move over time, causing the continents to drift apart. [3] There are four types of plate boundaries - constructive, destructive, conservative, and collisional - where earthquakes and volcanoes can occur as the plates interact.

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    S3 2.2 Restless Earth 2 - Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    James
    31 views2 pages
    The document summarizes plate tectonics and the structure of the Earth. [1] The Earth is made up of layers including a solid inner core, surrounded by the mantle and crust. [2] The crust is broken into plates that slowly move over time, causing the continents to drift apart. [3] There are four types of plate boundaries - constructive, destructive, conservative, and collisional - where earthquakes and volcanoes can occur as the plates interact.

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    Lower secondary 2 geography - Earth

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    S3 2.2 Restless Earth 2 - Plate tectonics

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    The document summarizes plate tectonics and the structure of the Earth. [1] The Earth is made up of layers including a solid inner core, surrounded by the mantle and crust. [2] The crust is broken into plates that slowly move over time, causing the continents to drift apart. [3] There are four types of plate boundaries - constructive, destructive, conservative, and collisional - where earthquakes and volcanoes can occur as the plates interact.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    31 views2 pages

    S3 2.2 Restless Earth 2 - Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    James
    The document summarizes plate tectonics and the structure of the Earth. [1] The Earth is made up of layers including a solid inner core, surrounded by the mantle and crust. [2] The crust is broken into plates that slowly move over time, causing the continents to drift apart. [3] There are four types of plate boundaries - constructive, destructive, conservative, and collisional - where earthquakes and volcanoes can occur as the plates interact.

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    www.internationalschoolhistory.

    net

    Year 3 Human Science

    Geography - The Restless Earth 2 – Plate Tectonics

    Structure of the earth

    The best starting point for understanding earthquakes and volcanoes is to examine the
    structure of the earth. The earth is very similar to a peach in its structure. In the centre is a
    solid core. Surrounding the core is the inner core, then the mantle, which is covered in the
    earth’s 'skin' or crust.

    Plates, Pangea and continental drift

    The earth was formed 4,600 million


    Pangea years ago. Since then it has been
    slowly cooling down and a thin crust
    has formed round the outside. The
    crust is not all one piece but is broken
    into several enormous sections called
    plates. In 1912 Alfred Wegener
    published a theory to explain why the
    Earth looked like a huge jigsaw. He
    believed the continents were once
    joined forming a supercontinent he
    called Pangaea. Over 180 million
    years ago this supercontinent began to
    "break up" due to continental drift.

    During the 20th Century, scientists


    developed the theory of plate
    tectonics. The theory suggested that
    the crust of the Earth is split up into
    seven large plates (see map below)
    and a few smaller ones, all of which
    are able to move slowly around on the Earth's surface. Underneath the crust the rock is so hot
    that it remains molten and can flow like warm honey. The plates float on this layer and move
    about very, very slowly - just a few millimetres a year.

    The major plate boundaries

    In some places they move towards each other and in others they move apart or scrape
    alongside each other. The place where two plates meet is called a plate boundary. The
    movement at these plate boundaries can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to occur.

    Four types of plate boundary

    Constructive plate boundaries Destructive plate boundaries Conservative plate Collision plate boundaries occur
    occur when two plates move occur when an oceanic plate is boundaries occur when two when two continental plates
    away from each other forced under a continental plate plates slide past each other. move towards each other.

    Activities

    1. Using the Pangea Cutouts sheet, colour and label each of the continents and then try
    to combine and stick the continents together into a single Pangea.
    2. Using a blank world map draw on the plate boundaries and then colour and label it.
    3. Explain the following terms: plates, Pangea, continental drift and plate boundary.
    4. Using coloured, labeled diagrams to help you, explain the four different types of plate
    boundary.
    5. Using the map of major plate boundaries to help you, where in the Mediterranean
    basin might you expect to find earthquakes and volcanoes?
    RJ-N 260909

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