Ch. 7 glencoe worksheets

Glencoe Science
Chapter Resources
Plate Tectonics
Includes:
Reproducible Student Pages
ASSESSMENT
✔ ChapterTests
✔ Chapter Review
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES
✔ LabWorksheets for each Student Edition Activity
✔ Laboratory Activities
✔ Foldables–Reading and Study Skills activity sheet
MEETING INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
✔ Directed Reading for Content Mastery
✔ Directed Reading for Content Mastery in Spanish
✔ Reinforcement
✔ Enrichment
✔ Note-takingWorksheets
TRANSPARENCY ACTIVITIES
✔ Section FocusTransparency Activities
✔ TeachingTransparency Activity
✔ AssessmentTransparency Activity
Teacher Support and Planning
✔ Content Outline forTeaching
✔ Spanish Resources
✔ Teacher Guide and Answers

Glencoe Science
Photo Credits
Section Focus Transparency 1: Ron Watts/CORBIS; Section Focus Transparency 2: Museum of Paleontology,
University of CA, Berkeley; Section Focus Transparency 3: Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch/ENP
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to reproduce the material contained herein on the condition
that such material be reproduced only for classroom use; be provided to students,
teachers, and families without charge; and be used solely in conjunction with the
Plate Tectonics program. Any other reproduction, for use or sale, is prohibited
without prior written permission of the publisher.
Send all inquiries to:
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
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Printed in the United States of America.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 071 09 08 07 06 05 04

iii
To the Teacher iv
■ Hands-On Activities
MiniLAB: Try at Home Interpreting Fossil Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
MiniLAB: Modeling Convection Currents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Lab: Seafloor Spreading Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Lab: Use the Internet Predicting Tectonic Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Laboratory Activity 1: Paleogeographic Mapping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Laboratory Activity 2: How do continental plates move? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Foldables: Reading and Study Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
■ Meeting Individual Needs
Extension and Intervention
Directed Reading for Content Mastery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Directed Reading for Content Mastery in Spanish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Enrichment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Note-taking Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
■ Assessment
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
■ Transparency Activities
Section Focus Transparency Activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Teaching Transparency Activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Assessment Transparency Activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Content Outline for Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T2
Spanish Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T5
Teacher Guide and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T9
Table of Contents
Additional Assessment Resources available with Glencoe Science:
• ExamView® Pro Testmaker
• Assessment Transparencies
• Performance Assessment in the Science Classroom
• Standardized Test Practice Booklet
• MindJogger Videoquizzes
• Vocabulary PuzzleMaker at msscience.com
• Interactive Chalkboard
• The Glencoe Science Web site at: msscience.com
• An interactive version of this textbook along with assessment resources are available
online at: mhln.com

Copyright©Glencoe/McGraw-Hill,adivisionoftheMcGraw-HillCompanies,Inc.
iv
This chapter-based booklet contains all of the resource materials to help you teach
this chapter more effectively. Within you will find:
Reproducible pages for
■ Student Assessment
■ Hands-on Activities
■ Meeting Individual Needs (Extension and Intervention)
A teacher support and planning section including
■ Content Outline of the chapter
■ Spanish Resources
■ Answers and teacher notes for the worksheets
Hands-On Activities
MiniLAB and Lab Worksheets: Each of these worksheets is an expanded version of each lab
and MiniLAB found in the Student Edition. The materials lists, procedures, and questions
are repeated so that students do not need their texts open during the lab. Write-on rules are
included for any questions. Tables/charts/graphs are often included for students to record
their observations. Additional lab preparation information is provided in the Teacher Guide
and Answers section.
Laboratory Activities: These activities do not require elaborate supplies or extensive pre-lab
preparations. These student-oriented labs are designed to explore science through a stimu-
lating yet simple and relaxed approach to each topic. Helpful comments, suggestions, and
answers to all questions are provided in the Teacher Guide and Answers section.
Foldables: At the beginning of each chapter there is a Foldables: Reading & Study Skills
activity written by renowned educator, Dinah Zike, that provides students with a tool that
they can make themselves to organize some of the information in the chapter. Students may
make an organizational study fold, a cause and effect study fold, or a compare and contrast
study fold, to name a few. The accompanying Foldables worksheet found in this resource
booklet provides an additional resource to help students demonstrate their grasp of the
concepts. The worksheet may contain titles, subtitles, text, or graphics students need to
complete the study fold.
Meeting Individual Needs (Extension and Intervention)
Directed Reading for Content Mastery: These worksheets are designed to provide students
with learning difficulties with an aid to learning and understanding the vocabulary and
major concepts of each chapter. The Content Mastery worksheets contain a variety of formats
to engage students as they master the basics of the chapter. Answers are provided in the
Teacher Guide and Answers section.
To the Teacher

v
Directed Reading for Content Mastery (in Spanish): A Spanish version of the Directed
Reading for Content Mastery is provided for those Spanish-speaking students who are
learning English.
Reinforcement: These worksheets provide an additional resource for reviewing the con-
cepts of the chapter. There is one worksheet for each section, or lesson, of the chapter.
The Reinforcement worksheets are designed to focus primarily on science content and less
on vocabulary, although knowledge of the section vocabulary supports understanding of
the content. The worksheets are designed for the full range of students; however, they will
be more challenging for your lower-ability students. Answers are provided in the Teacher
Guide and Answers section.
Enrichment: These worksheets are directed toward above-average students and allow them
to explore further the information and concepts introduced in the section. A variety of
formats are used for these worksheets: readings to analyze; problems to solve; diagrams
to examine and analyze; or a simple activity or lab which students can complete in the
classroom or at home. Answers are provided in the Teacher Guide and Answers section.
Note-taking Worksheet: The Note-taking Worksheet mirrors the content contained in the
teacher version—Content Outline for Teaching. They can be used to allow students to take
notes during class, as an additional review of the material in the chapter, or as study notes
for students who have been absent.
Assessment
Chapter Review: These worksheets prepare students for the chapter test. The
Chapter Review worksheets cover all major vocabulary, concepts, and objectives
of the chapter. The first part is a vocabulary review and the second part is a concept review.
Answers and objective correlations are provided in the Teacher Guide and Answers section.
Chapter Test: The Chapter Test requires students to use process skills and understand content.
Although all questions involve memory to some degree, you will find that your students will
need to discover relationships among facts and concepts in some questions, and to use higher
levels of critical thinking to apply concepts in other questions. Each chapter test normally
consists of four parts: Testing Concepts measures recall and recognition of vocabulary and
facts in the chapter; Understanding Concepts requires interpreting information and more
comprehension than recognition and recall—students will interpret basic information and
demonstrate their ability to determine relationships among facts, generalizations, definitions,
and skills; Applying Concepts calls for the highest level of comprehension and inference;
Writing Skills requires students to define or describe concepts in multiple sentence answers.
Answers and objective correlations are provided in the Teacher Guide and Answers section.
Transparency Activities
Section Focus Transparencies: These transparencies are designed to generate interest
and focus students’ attention on the topics presented in the sections and/or to assess
prior knowledge. There is a transparency for each section, or lesson, in the Student Edition.
The reproducible student masters are located in the Transparency Activities section. The
teacher material, located in the Teacher Guide and Answers section, includes Transparency
Teaching Tips, a Content Background section, and Answers for each transparency.

vi
Teaching Transparencies: These transparencies relate to major concepts that will benefit
from an extra visual learning aid. Most of these transparencies contain diagrams/photos
from the Student Edition. There is one Teaching Transparency for each chapter. The Teaching
Transparency Activity includes a black-and-white reproducible master of the transparency
accompanied by a student worksheet that reviews the concept shown in the transparency.
These masters are found in the Transparency Activities section. The teacher material includes
Transparency Teaching Tips, a Reteaching Suggestion, Extensions, and Answers to Student
Worksheet. This teacher material is located in the Teacher Guide and Answers section.
Assessment Transparencies: An Assessment Transparency extends the chapter content and
gives students the opportunity to practice interpreting and analyzing data presented in
charts, graphs, and tables. Test-taking tips that help prepare students for success on stan-
dardized tests and answers to questions on the transparencies are provided in the Teacher
Guide and Answers section.
Content Outline for Teaching: These pages provide a synopsis of the chapter by section,
including suggested discussion questions. Also included are the terms that fill in the blanks
in the students’ Note-taking Worksheets.
Spanish Resources: A Spanish version of the following chapter features are included in this
section: objectives, vocabulary words and definitions, a chapter purpose, the chapter Activi-
ties, and content overviews for each section of the chapter.

■ Hands-On Activities
MiniLAB: Try at Home Interpreting Fossil Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
MiniLAB: Modeling Convection Currents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Lab: Seafloor Spreading Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Lab: Use the Internet Predicting Tectonic Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Laboratory Activity 1: Paleogeographic Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Laboratory Activity 2: How do continental plates move? . . . . . . . . . . 13
Foldables: Reading and Study Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
■ Meeting Individual Needs
Extension and Intervention
Directed Reading for Content Mastery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Directed Reading for Content Mastery in Spanish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Enrichment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Note-taking Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
■ Assessment
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Section Focus Transparency Activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Teaching Transparency Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Assessment Transparency Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Plate Tectonics 1
Reproducible
Student Pages

2 Plate Tectonics
Hands-On
Activities
Hands-OnActivities

Plate Tectonics 3
Name Date Class
Interpreting Fossil Data
Procedure
1. Build a three-layer landmass using clay or modeling dough.
2. Mold the clay into mountain ranges.
3. Place similar “fossils” into the clay at various locations around
the landmass.
4. Form five continents from the one landmass. Also, form two smaller
landmasses out of different clay with different mountain ranges and fossils.
5. Place the five continents and two smaller landmasses around the room.
6. Have someone who did not make or place the landmasses make a model
that shows how they once were positioned.
7. Return the clay to its container so it can be used again.
Hands-OnActivities
Analysis
What clues were useful in reconstructing the original landmass?

4 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
Modeling Convection Currents
Procedure
1. Pour water into a clear, colorless casserole dish until it is 5 cm
from the top.
2. Center the dish on a hot plate and heat it.
WARNING: Wear thermal mitts to protect your hands.
3. Add a few drops of food coloring to the water above the center of the
hot plate.
4. Looking from the side of the dish, observe what happens in the water.
5. In the space below, illustrate your observations.
Hands-OnActivities
Analysis
1. Determine whether any currents form in the water.
2. Infer what causes the currents to form.

Plate Tectonics 5
Name Date Class
Lab Preview
Directions: Answer these questions before you begin the Lab.
1. Where can you find the data about each peak that you need for this lab?
2. What formula do you use to calculate the rate of movement in this lab?
How did scientists use their knowledge of seafloor spreading and magnetic
field reversals to reconstruct Pangaea? Try this lab to see how you can deter-
mine where a continent may have been located in the past.
Seafloor Spreading Rates
Hands-OnActivities
Real-World Question
Can you use clues, such as magnetic
field reversals on Earth, to help
reconstruct Pangaea?
Materials
metric ruler pencil
Goals
■ Interpret data about magnetic field
reversals. Use these magnetic clues to
reconstruct Pangaea.
Procedure
1. Study the magnetic field graph below. You
will be working only with normal polarity
readings, which are the peaks above the
baseline in the top half of the graph.
2. Place the long edge of a ruler vertically
on the graph. Slide the ruler so that it lines
up with the center of peak 1 west of the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
3. Determine and record the distance and age
that line up with the center of peak 1 west.
Repeat this process for peak 1 east of the ridge.
4. Calculate the average distance and age for
this pair of peaks.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each remain-
ing pair of normal-polarity peaks.
6. Calculate the rate of movement in cm per
year for the six pairs of peaks. Use the
formula rate = distance/time. Convert
kilometers to centimeters. For example,
to calculate a rate using normal-polarity
peak 5, west of the ridge:
rate =
125 km
10 million years
=
=
1,250,000 cm
1,000,000 years
=
12.5 km
million years
1.25 cm/year
Age (millions of years)
West from ridge East from ridge
6
5 4
23
1
1
2
3 4
5
6
6
54
3
2
1
1
2
3
45
6
Mid-AtlanticRidge
Distance (km)
Normal
polarity
12 8 410 6 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1211
150 125 100 75 50 25 25 50 75 100 125 1500

6 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
Hands-OnActivities
Data and Observations
Conclude and Apply
1. Compare the age of igneous rock found near the mid-ocean ridge with that of igneous rock
found farther away from the ridge.
2. If the distance from a point on the coast of Africa to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is approximately
2,400 km, calculate how long ago that point in Africa was at or near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
3. How could you use this method to reconstruct Pangaea?
Average age from scale
(millions of years )
Peaks Peak 1 Peak 2 Peak 3 Peak 4 Peak 5 Peak 6
Distance west normal polarity (km)
Distance east normal polarity (km)
Average distance (km)
Rate of movement (cm/year)
(continued)

Plate Tectonics 7
Name Date Class
The movement of plates on Earth causes forces that build up energy in rocks.
The release of this energy can produce vibrations in Earth that you know
as earthquakes. Earthquakes occur every day. Many of them are too small
to be felt by humans, but each event tells scientists something more about the
planet. Active volcanoes can do the same, and volcanoes often form at plate
boundaries.
Think about where earthquakes and volcanoes have occurred in the past.
Make a hypothesis about whether the locations of earthquake epicenters and
active volcanoes can be used to predict tectonically active areas.
Use the Internet
Predicting Tectonic Activity
Hands-OnActivities
Real-World Question
Can you predict tectonically active areas by
plotting locations of earthquake epicenters
and volcanic eruptions?
Goals
■ Research the locations of earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions around the world.
■ Plot earthquake epicenters and the locations
of volcanic eruptions obtained from
msscience.com site.
■ Predict locations that are tectonically active
based on a plot of the locations of earth-
quake epicenters and active volcanoes.
Data Sources
Visit msscience.com/
internet_lab for more
information about earthquake and volcano
sites and data from other students.
Make a Plan
1. Study the data table shown below. Use it to
record your data.
2. Collect data for earthquake epicenters and
volcanic eruptions for at least the past two
weeks. Your data should include the longi-
tude and latitude for each location. For
help, refer to the data sources given above.
Earthquake Epicenter/Volcanic Eruption
Locations of Epicenters and Eruptions
Longitude Latitude

8 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
Hands-OnActivities
Communicating Your Data
Find this lab using the link below. Post your data in the table provided. Compare your data
with those of other students. Combine your data with those of other students, and plot
these combined data on map to recognize the relationship between plate coundaries, vol-
canic eruptions, and earthquake epicenters.
msscience.com/internet_lab
Follow Your Plan
1. Make sure your teacher approves your plan
before you start.
2. Plot the locations of earthquake epicenters
and volcanic eruptions on a map of the
world. Use an overlay of tissue paper
or plastic.
3. After you have collected the necessary data,
predict where the tectonically active areas
on Earth are.
4. Compare and contrast the areas that you
predicted to be tectonically active with the
plate boundary map shown in Figure 9 in
your textbook.
Analyze Your Data
1. What areas on Earth do you predict to be the locations of tectonic activity?
2. How close did your prediction come to the actual location of tectonically active areas?
Conclude and Apply
1. How could you make your predictions closer to the locations of actual tectonic activity?
2. Would data from a longer period of time help? Explain.
3. What types of plate boundaries were close to your locations of earthquake epicenters? Volcanic
eruptions?
4. Explain which types of plate boundaries produce volcanic eruptions. Be specific.
(continued)

Plate Tectonics 9
Name Date Class
Paleogeographic Mapping
Paleo- means old as in paleontology, the study of old life (fossils). Geo- means Earth, as in geology,
the study of Earth. Graphic refers to a drawing or painting. Therefore, paleogeographic could be
translated as “Old Earth Picture.” Scientists often use fossil evidence to help them develop a picture of
how Earth was long ago. By examining and dating rock formations and fossils of various plants and
animals, scientists are able to formulate hypotheses about what Earth’s surface might have looked like
during a particular period in history. For example, similar rock formations and certain types of plant
and animal fossils of a particular age could indicate whether two, now separate, land areas might have
been connected during that period. Further analysis of the samples and data could also provide clues
to the climate of that area or whether it was dry land or covered by an ocean. To classify events in the
geologic past, scientists have divided the millions of years of Earth’s history into segments, called eras.
In this activity, you will examine evidence from the fossil record relative to a current map of an
imaginary continent and develop a map of what the continent and the surrounding area might have
looked like during the Mesozoic Era (248 million to 65 million years ago).
Strategy
You will determine how fossil evidence can be used to infer information about a continent during
the geologic past.
You will interpret fossil evidence to draw a map showing how a continent appeared during the
Mesozoic Era.
Materials
colored pencils or markers
Hands-OnActivities
Laboratory
Activity11
Procedure
1. Figure 1 shows a map of a present-day
imaginary continent. Locations A through
I are places where fossils have been found
in rocks dating to the Mesozoic Era. Study
the map and look at the fossils key below
the map.
2. From the locations of the different fossils,
infer where the land areas were at the time
the fossil organisms lived. Keep in mind
that the way the modern continent looks
may have no relationship to where the
land/ocean boundaries were during the
Mesozoic Era.
3. Use one color of pencil or marker to color
in the land areas on the map in Figure 1.
Fill in the block labeled Land with the
same color. Use a different color of pencil
or marker to color in the ocean areas on
the map in Figure 1. Fill in the block
labeled Ocean with this color.
4. In the space provided under Data and
Observations, draw a map showing land
and water areas during the Mesozoic Era.
Use the color boundaries you added to Fig-
ure 1 as your guideline. Based on these
boundaries, add all of the symbols from
the map key in Figure 1 to your map.
5. Color all the areas around and between the
labeled areas on your map as either land or
ocean. Fill in the blocks labeled Land and
Ocean with the colors you used.

10 Plate Tectonics
Laboratory Activity 1 (continued)
Name Date Class
Hands-OnActivities
A
B C
D
E
F
G
H
I
X
Y
Land Ocean
Figure 1
Fossils found in Mesozoic rocks
A (shark teeth) F (teeth/bones of small mammals)
B (petrified wood) G (dinosaur bones)
C (sea stars) H (corals)
D (leaf and fern imprints) I (dinosaur footprints)
E (seashell fragments)
X, Y (Areas to be identified after completing your map)

Plate Tectonics 11
Name Date Class
Hands-OnActivities
Mesozoic Map
Questions and Conclusions
1. According to your map, was location Y land or water during the Mesozoic Era? Explain how
you decided.
2. According to your map, was location X land or water during the Mesozoic Era? Explain how
you decided.
3. Compare your map with those of other students. Why do you think that not everyone agreed
on whether location X was land or water? How could you find out which interpretation was
correct?
❐ Land ❐ Ocean

12 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
4. Corals grow only in warm, shallow oceans near the coastlines of continents that are relatively
near the equator. Would knowing this fact make you revise your map? Why or why not?
5. Suppose the modern continent shown in Figure 1 was located in an area that is extremely cold.
Using the evidence you have, plus the information in Question 4, what could you infer about
the continent?
Strategy Check
Can you determine how fossil evidence can be used to infer information about a
continent during the geologic past?
Can you interpret fossil evidence to draw a map showing how a continent appeared
during the Mesozoic Era?
Hands-OnActivities

Plate Tectonics 13
Name Date Class
Howdocontinental
platesmove?
One of the models that helps explain how tectonic plates move is the convection model. In this
hypothesis, the molten magma of the mantle boils like water in a pot. The pattern of the moving
water forms a circular wave or current as hot water rises to the top and cooler surface water is
forced to the side of the pot and back down to be heated again. Inside the Earth it is believed there
are many convection cells, or regions in the mantle, that boil like this. The different cells have their
own currents and constantly move independently of one another. The crust of the Earth has a
much lighter mass and density than the magma. As a result, the plates of crust are moved by
convection currents and broken up on the boiling surface of the mantle.
Strategy
You will model convection currents and the movement of tectonic plates.
You will predict what will happen to tectonic plates at the margins of convection cells.
Materials
hot plate scissors tongs
water medium to large–mouthed pot
sheets of plastic foam wrap for padding packages (not made from corn or organic materials)
Procedure
1. The hot plates should be turned on high.
Carefully fill the pot 2/3 full of water and
place it on the hot plate. It will take a while
for the water to boil.
2. Obtain a piece of flat plastic foam wrap.
Use scissors to cut several shapes that rep-
resent tectonic plates. If you are working in
a group you may mark your tectonic plates
with a pencil or pen if you wish so that you
can recognize it when the water boils.
3. Carefully place your pieces of foam on the
surface of the water. If the water has any
steam or tiny bubbles at the bottom of the
pan, ask your teacher to place the foam in
the pot for you.
4. As the water heats, watch the action of
the bubbles as they rise from the bottom of
the pot. Observe everything you can about
what happens to them when they rise under
a piece of foam. Record your observation in
the table provided.
5. Once the water begins to boil, watch your
pieces of foam. How do they move? In
what direction do they go? Do they stay in
one place in the pot or do they move ? Do
they crash into other pieces of foam?
Record the answers to these observations in
the data table. Be sure to observe the boiling
pot for a while. It may first seem there is no
pattern to the action in the pot, but careful
observation will reveal certain movements
in the boiling water.
Figure 1
Hands-OnActivities
Foam
Laboratory
Activity22

14 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
6. When the experiment is over, your teacher
will turn off the hot plates and remove the
foam with tongs for cooling. DO NOT
remove the pieces yourself. They will cool
quickly. When they are cooled, find your
pieces and return to your lab station or seat.
7. In your data table write down any observed
changes in your foam. Does it still have
water in it? Have any of the corners been
melted or damaged? Write down any other
observations in your table.
Hands-OnActivities
1. How did you describe what happened to the bubbles as they gathered under the foam? What
happened at the sides of the foam?
1.
2.
3.
Action of
bubbles
Movement of
foam pieces in
boiling water
Condition of
foam after
experiment

Plate Tectonics 15
Name Date Class
2. What type of natural feature is similar to the action of the bubbles? Explain your answer.
3. Describe the movement of the plastic pieces when the water started to boil. Could you see a pattern?
4. How does this experiment model the moving tectonic plates?
5. How is this experiment different from the real world in terms of tectonic plates? (Hint: What
were your foam pieces like after the experiment?)
6. Predict what would happen if the convection currents of the molten magma changed direction
or stopped altogether?
Strategy Check
Can you model convection currents and the movement of tectonic plates?
Can you predict what will happen to tectonic plates at the margins of convection cells?
Hands-OnActivities

Plate Tectonics 17
Plate Tectonics
Directions: Use this page to label your Foldable at the beginning of the chapter.
Know
Like to know
Learned
Name Date Class
Hands-OnActivities

18 Plate Tectonics
Meeting Individual
Needs
MeetingIndividualNeeds

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 19
Overview
Plate Tectonics
Directions: Study the following diagram. Then label each part with the letter of the correct description below.
A. A mid-ocean ridge forms whenever diverging plates continue to separate,
creating a new ocean basin. As the rising magma cools, it forms new ocean crust.
B. When an oceanic plate converges with a less dense continental plate, the denser
oceanic plate sinks under the continental plate.
C. When two oceanic plates converge, the denser plate is forced beneath the other
plate and volcanic islands form above the sinking plate.
Directions: Circle the words in parentheses that best complete the sentences below.
4. (Fossils, Human bones), rocks, and climate provided Wegener with support for
his continental drift theory.
5. The fact that the (youngest, oldest) rocks are located at the mid-ocean ridges is
evidence for seafloor spreading.
6. The transfer of (solar, heat) energy inside Earth moves plates.
Continental crust
Oceanic crust
1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
Directed Reading for
Content Mastery

Name Date Class
20 Plate Tectonics
Section 1 ■ Continental Drift
Section 2 ■ Seafloor Spreading
Directions: Complete the paragraph by filling in the blanks using the words below.
Pangaea Arctic rock
continents Africa seafloor spreading
Alfred Wegener was one of the first people to suggest that all of the
1. ___________________ were joined together in the past. He called the one large
continent 2. ___________________. Evidence exists to support his hypothesis.
For example, similar fossils have been found in South America and
3. ___________________. Also, fossils of warm weather plants have been found in
the 4. ___________________. Similar 5. ___________________ structures exist in
the Appalachian Mountains and in Greenland and western Europe. But until clues on
the ocean floor led to Harry Hess’s theory of 6. ___________________, scientists
could not think of how the continents might move.
Directions: Study the following diagram of the seafloor. Then match the letters to the statements below.
DA B
C
Seafloor
Content Mastery
7. Molten rock flows onto the seafloor and hardens as it cools.
8. Hot, molten rock is forced upward toward the seafloor at a mid-ocean ridge.
9. New seafloor moves away from the ridge, cools, becomes denser, and sinks.
10. Molten rock pushes sideways in both directions as it rises, moving the
mantle with it.

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 21
Section 3 ■ Theory of Plate
Tectonics
Directions: In the blank at the left, write the letter of the term that best completes the sentence.
1. Earth’s crust and upper mantle are broken into sections called ______
a. lava. b. plates.
2. The collision of one continental plate with another may produce ______
a. oceans. b. mountains.
3. New ocean crust is formed at a ______
a. rift valley. b. mid-ocean ridge.
4. A rift valley can form where two continental plates are ______
a. moving apart. b. colliding.
5. Where Earth’s plates move, they may slide alongside one another, pull
apart, or ______
a. collide. b. divide.
Directions: Complete the concept map using the terms in the list below.
mid-ocean ridges volcanic islands major earthquakes
rift valleys deep-sea trenches volcanic mountains
Content Mastery
Plate boundaries
8.
transform
include include
7.6.
11.
convergent
form
and
10.9.
divergent
form
and
include
cause

Name Date Class
22 Plate Tectonics
Key Terms
Plate Tectonics
Directions: Use the following terms to complete the puzzle below. The letters in the darker, vertical box
complete question 9.
Pangaea mantle spreading lithosphere
convection plates drift asthenosphere
1. The hypothesis that continents move slowly is called continental ______.
2. All continents once might have been connected in a large landmass called ______.
3. The cycle of heating, rising, cooling, and sinking is a ______ current.
4. Just below Earth’s crust is the ______.
5. The crust and part of the upper mantle are known as the ______.
6. Continental plates move on the plasticlike layer of Earth’s surface called the ______.
7. Hot magma forced upward at mid-ocean ridges produces seafloor ______.
8. Sections of Earth’s crust and part of the upper mantle are called ______.
9. The theory that Earth’s crust and upper mantle are in sections that move is
called plate ___________________.
7
6
5
4
3
2
11
8
C
Content Mastery

Nombre Fecha Clase
Tectónica de las placas 23
Sinopsis
Tectónica de las placas
Instrucciones: Estudia el siguiente diagrama. Luego rotula cada parte con la letra de la descripción correcta.
A.Una dorsal mediooceánica se forma cuando las placas divergentes continúan sepa-
rándose, creando una cuenca oceánica. A medida que se eleva y se enfría, el
magma forma nueva corteza oceánica.
B. Cuando una placa oceánica converge con una placa continental menos densa, la
placa oceánica más densa se hunde debajo de la placa continental.
C.Cuando dos placas oceánicas convergen, la placa más densa es forzada a moverse
debajo de la otra placa y se forman islas volcánicas sobre la placa que se está hun-
diendo.
Instrucciones: Haz un círculo alrededor de las palabras que mejor completan las siguientes oraciones.
4. Las principales pruebas que Wegener usó para apoyar su teoría de la deriva continen-
tal fueron (las rocas, los lenguajes), (los huesos humanos, los fósiles) y (el clima,
antiguos cuentos populares).
5. El hecho de que las rocas (más recientes, más antiguas) están ubicadas en las dor-
sales mediooceánicas es una prueba de la expansión del suelo marino.
6. La transferencia de energía (solar, térmica) dentro de la Tierra mueve las placas.
Corteza continental
Corteza oceánica
1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
Lectura dirigida para
Dominio del contenidio
Satisfacelasnecesidadesindividuales

Nombre Fecha Clase
24 Tectónica de las placas
Sección 1 ■ Deriva
continental
Sección 2 ■ Expansión del
suelo marino
Instrucciones: Completa el párrafo llenado los espacios en blanco con las siguientes palabras:
Pangaea el Ártico roca
continentes África expansión del suelo marino
Alfred Wegener fue una de las primeras personas que sugirió que todos los
1. ___________________ estuvieron unidos en el pasado. Él llamó a este gran conti-
nente único 2. ___________________. Existen pruebas que apoyan su hipótesis. Por
ejemplo, se han encontrado fósiles similares en Sudamérica y en
3. ___________________. Además, se han encontrado fósiles de climas cálidos en
4. ___________________. Existen estructuras de 5. ___________________ que son
similares en las montañas Apalaches y en Groenlandia y el oeste de Europa. Pero no
fue sino hasta que pistas encontradas en el suelo marino llevaron a la teoría de Harry
Hess de la 6. ___________________, que los científicos pudieron pensar sobre cómo
podrían moverse los continentes.
Instrucciones: Estudia el siguiente diagrama del suelo marino. Aparea luego las letras con las afirmaciones de
abajo.
Suelo marino
B
CA D
7. La roca fundida fluye sobre el suelo marino y se endurece al enfriarse.
8. La roca caliente y fundida es forzada hacia arriba hacia el suelo marino en las
dorsales mediooceánicas.
9. El nuevo suelo marino se aleja de la dorsal, se enfría, se hace más denso y se
hunde.
10. La roca fundida fluye hacia los lados en ambas direcciones, dividiendo
la corteza.

Nombre Fecha Clase
Tectónica de las placas 25
Sección 3 ■ Teoría de la
tectónica de
placas
Instrucciones: Escribe en el espacio a la izquierda, la letra del término que completa mejor cada oración.
1. La corteza y el manto superior de la Tierra están quebrados en secciones
llamadas ______
a. lava. b. placas.
2. La colisión de una placa continental con otra puede producir ______
a. océanos. b. montañas.
3. Se forma corteza oceánica nueva en un(a) ______
a. valle de dislocación. b. dorsal mediooceánica.
4. Un valle de dislocación se puede formar cuando dos placas
continentales están ______
a. separándose. b. chocando.
5. En los sitios en donde las placas de la Tierra se mueven, éstas pueden
deslizarse una al lado de la otra, separarse o ______
a. chocar. b. dividirse.
Instrucciones: Completa el mapa conceptual con los siguientes términos.
dorsales mediooceánicas islas volcánicas terremotos fuertes
valles de dislocación fosas oceánicas montañas volcánicas
Límites entre
placas
8.
placas
transformantes
incluyen incluyen
7.6.
11.
placas
convergentes
forman
y
10.9.
placas
divergentes
forman
y
incluyen
causan

Nombre Fecha Clase
26 Tectónica de las placas
Términos claves
Instrucciones: Usa los siguientes términos para completar el crucigrama. Las letras en la caja vertical oscura
contestan la pregunta 9.
Pangaea manto expansión litosfera
convección placas deriva astenosfera
1. Todos los continentes estuvieron conectados una vez formando una gran masa
de tierra llamada ______.
2. Ciclo de calentamiento, elevación, enfriamiento y hundimiento se llama
corriente de ______.
3. La corteza y la parte superior del manto se conocen como ______.
4. Las placas continentales se mueven sobre una capa viscosa bajo la superficie de
Tierra llamada ______.
5. El magma caliente que sube en las dorsales mediooceánicas produce ______ del
suelo marino.
6. La hipótesis de que los continentes se mueven lentamente se llama ______ conti-
nental.
7. Las secciones de la corteza y el manto superior de la Tierra se llaman ______.
8. Justo debajo de la corteza terrestre está ubicada la ______.
9. La teoría de que la corteza y el manto superior de la Tierra están divididos en
secciones que se mueven se llama ___________________ de placas.
T
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 27
Directions: Match the descriptions in Column I with the terms in Column II. Write the letter of the correct term
in the blank at the left.
Column I
1. reptile fossil found in South America and Africa
2. fossil plant found in Africa, Australia, India,
South America, and Antarctica
3. clues that support continental drift
4. mountains similar to those in Greenland and
western Europe
5. Wegener’s name for one large landmass
6. slow movement of continents
7. evidence that Africa was once cold
Continental Drift
Reinforcement
11
Column II
a. Pangaea
b. Appalachians
c. continental drift
d. glacial deposits
e. Glossopteris
f. Mesosaurus
g. fossil, climate, and rock
Directions: Answer the following questions on the lines provided.
8. How did the discovery of Glossopteris support Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis?
9. Why was Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift not widely accepted at the time it was
proposed? What do scientists now think might be a possible cause of continental drift?

28 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
Seafloor Spreading
Directions: Find the mistakes in the statements below. Rewrite each statement correctly on the lines provided.
1. During the 1940s and 1950s, scientists began using radar on moving ships to map large areas
of the ocean floor in detail.
2. The youngest rocks are found far from the mid-ocean ridges.
3. The scientist Henry Hess invented echo-sounding devices for mapping the ocean floor.
4. As the seafloor spreads apart, hot saltwater moves upward and flows from the cracks.
5. As the new seafloor moves away from the ridge and becomes hotter, it moves upward and
forms still higher ridges.
6. The research ship Glomar Challenger was equipped with a drilling rig that records magnetic data.
7. Rocks on the seafloor are much older than many continental rocks.
8. When plates collide, the denser plate will ride over the less-dense plate.
9. Earth’s magnetic field has always run from the north pole to the south pole.
10. The magnetic alignment in rocks on the ocean floor always runs from the north pole to the
south pole.
Reinforcement
22

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 29
Directions: Use the following words to fill in the blanks below.
asthenosphere lithosphere plate tectonics
convection plates
1. The theory of ____________________ states that Earth’s crust and upper mantle are broken
into sections.
2. These sections, called ____________________, are composed of the crust and a part of the
upper mantle.
3. The crust and upper mantle together are called the ____________________.
4. Beneath this layer is the plasticlike ____________________.
5. Scientists suggest that differences in density cause hot, plasticlike rock to be forced upward
toward the surface, cool, and sink. This cycle is called a ____________________ current.
Directions: Four diagrams are shown in the table below. Label and describe each diagram in the space provided
in order to complete the table.
Theory of Plate Tectonics
Reinforcement
33
Type of boundary and
motion at boundary
Type of boundary and
motion at boundary
DiagramDiagram
6.
7.
8.
9.

30 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
Studying Seafloor
Spreading on Land
You know from your textbook how seafloor spreading changes the ocean floor. You know that
magma rises at the mid-ocean ridge and flows away from the ridge. In general, this activity is hidden
beneath the ocean’s water. But there is a place where seafloor spreading can be seen on land.
Figure 1 Figure 2
1. What is the name of the landmass through which the mid-ocean ridge in the Atlantic Ocean passes?
2. How do the land structures of Iceland help confirm seafloor spreading?
3. Why do you think geologists might find Iceland a useful place to conduct research on seafloor
spreading?
Enrichment
11
North
America
Pacific
Ocean
South
America
Atlantic
Ocean
Africa
Iceland
Key
Mid-ocean ridge
Active volcanoes
Key
0 100 km
Iceland
Active volcanoes; formed from today to
10,000 years ago
Formed 10,000 to 2,000,000 years ago
Formed 2,000,000 to 63,000,000 years ago

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 31
Axial Volcano—Evidence for
Seafloor Spreading
What happens when a volcano erupts under
water? Ocean scientists got the opportunity to
find out in January 1988 when Axial erupted.
Axial is an underwater volcano, or seamount,
located about 480 km west of Oregon’s coast.
It looms the largest of all the underwater
structures on the Juan de Fuca ridge.
Quakes Along the Seafloor
Underwater listening instruments called
hydrophones, which are used by the Navy to
hear submarines, first picked up rumblings from
Axial on January 25. Scientists recorded nearly
7,000 earthquakes during the first four days
alone. Scientists hypothesized that these quakes
resulted from hot magma moving and cracking
rock, uncapping the top of Axial. The earth-
quakes followed a line in the seafloor where the
Juan de Fuca oceanic plate is moving eastward,
away from the Pacific oceanic plate. East of the
shoreline, the Juan de Fuca plate is being pushed
under the North American continental plate.
Creating New Seafloor
The scientists discovered that when Axial
erupted, boiling-hot water shot up out of the
volcano, followed by a great amount of super-
hot lava. Much of this lava filled part of the
gap between the Pacific Ocean plate and the
Juan de Fuca plate, creating new seafloor.
Having lost so much magma, Axial caved in
somewhat—by about 3.2 m in the center.
Megaplumes
Around the same time, another group of
scientists was on a 52 m research ship, the
Wecoma, on the ocean’s surface about a mile
above. They fought stormy conditions to
gather data such as water temperature, water
current flow, and samples of chemicals from
the eruption. In 1986 scientists had learned
that underwater volcanoes can cause under-
water “hurricanes,” called megaplumes, which
shoot hot water loaded with minerals and life-
forms some 305 m up from the
bottom. Only seven megaplumes in the world
had been observed previously.
Hydrothermal Vents
At Axial’s summit sits a rectangular caldera
(roughly 20 km2 in area) between two rift
zones. In the dark caldera, hydrothermal vents
furnish heat and “food” such as hydrogen
sulfide—poisonous to most creatures—to
communities of bacteria and tube worms
comfortable in temperatures hotter than the
boiling point of water.
Axial provides scientists with a model
for the rest of Earth’s 64,000 km or so of
mid-ocean ridges. Various groups of scientists
are conducting long-term studies of Axial and
other areas along the Juan de Fuca ridge,
focusing on various aspects of seafloor
exploration.
Enrichment
22
1. Describe how seafloor spreading occurs along the Juan de Fuca ridge.
2. Using a physical map of Oregon, identify the geographical feature where the Juan de Fuca plate
is pushing under the North American plate.
3. Do you think that the rocks near Axial are younger or older than the rocks in Oregon? Explain.

32 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
The word tectonics comes from the same Greek base word as “architect.” Both words refer to
building. An architect designs structures. Tectonics is a process by which Earth’s structures are
built and changed.
1. Cut the map along the boundaries. Move the pieces to show how the plates will move in the
next million years, according to the types of boundaries. Tape the pieces in place.
2. In which place(s) did you have to crumple your paper to account for the various plate movements?
3. Compare your new map with those of your classmates. Discuss similarities and account for any
differences.
4. Research another area in the world where plates meet. Share your findings with the class.
Enrichment
33
Predicting Plate Movement
Africa
Red Sea
Arabian
Peninsula
Gulf of Aden
Persian Gulf
Asia
Arabian Sea
Key
Divergent boundary
Convergent boundary
Transform boundary

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 33
Plate Tectonics
Section 1 Continental Drift
A. The continental drift hypothesis—continents have moved slowly to their current locations.
1. All continents were once connected as one large landmass now called ________________.
2. The land mass broke apart, and the ___________________ drifted to their present positions.
3. Evidence for continental drift
a. ____________________ fit of the continents
b. Similar ________________ have been found on different continents.
c. Remains of warm-weather plants in _______________ areas and glacial deposits in
__________________areas suggest that continents have moved.
d. Similar _____________ structures are found on different continents.
B. At first, continental drift was not accepted because no one could explain ____________ or
_____________continents had moved.
Section 2 Seafloor Spreading
A. Using ______________ waves, scientists discovered a system of underwater mountain ranges
called the mid-ocean ridges in many oceans.
B. In the 1960s, Harry Hess suggested the theory of ___________________________ to explain
the ridges.
1. Hot, less dense material below Earth’s ______________ rises upward to the surface at the
mid-ocean ridges.
2. Then, it flows sideways, carrying the _________________ away from the ridge.
3. As the seafloor spreads apart, ______________ moves up and flows from the cracks, cools,
and forms new seafloor.
C. Evidence for seafloor spreading
1. _________________ rocks are located at mid-ocean ridges.
2. Reversals of Earth’s _________________ field are recorded by rocks in strips parallel to ridges.
Note-taking
Worksheet

34 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
Section 3 Theory of Plate Tectonics
A. Plate movements
1. Earth’s ______________ and upper mantle are broken into sections.
2. The sections, called _______________, move on a plasticlike layer of the mantle.
3. The plates and upper mantle form the ____________________.
4. The plasticlike layer below the lithosphere is called the ______________________.
B. Plate boundaries
1. Plates moving ______________—divergent boundaries
2. Plates moving _________________—convergent boundaries
a. Denser plates sink under less ______________ plates.
b. Newly formed hot ______________ forced upward forms volcanic mountains.
3. Plates collide
a. Plates crumple up to form _________________ ranges.
b. ____________________ are common.
4. Plates slide past—called __________________ boundaries; sudden movement can
cause earthquakes
C. Convection inside Earth—the cycle of heating, rising, cooling, and sinking of material inside
Earth is thought to be the ______________ behind plate tectonics.
D. Features caused by plate tectonics
1. Faults and _____________ valleys
2. Mountains and ___________________
3. Strike-slip faults—cause of ____________________
E. Testing for plate tectonics—scientists can measure __________________ as little as 1 cm per year.
Note-taking Worksheet (continued)

36 Plate Tectonics
Assessment
Assessment

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 37
Chapter
Review
Plate Tectonics
Part A. Vocabulary Review
Directions: Write the term that matches each description below in the spaces provided. Then unscramble the
letters in the boxes to reveal the mystery phrase.
1. plasticlike layer of Earth’s surface below
the lithosphere
2. cycle of heating, rising, cooling, and sinking
3. theory that states that Earth’s crust and
upper mantle are broken into sections, which
move around on a special layer of the mantle
4. area where an oceanic plate goes down
into the mantle
5. plate boundary that occurs when two
plates slide past one another
6. place where two plates move together
7. rigid layer of Earth’s surface made up of
the crust and a part of the upper mantle
8. sensing device that detects magnetic fields,
helping to confirm seafloor spreading
9. one large landmass hypothesized to have
broken apart about 200 million years ago
into continents
10. hypothesis that the continents have
moved slowly to their current locations
11. boundary between two plates that are
moving apart
12. sections of Earth’s crust and upper mantle
13. largest layer of Earth’s surface, composed
mostly of silicon, oxygen, magnesium,
and iron
14. outermost layer of Earth’s surface
15. where rocks on opposite sides of a fault
move in opposite directions or in the
same direction at different rates
16. Mystery phrase:
Assessment
1. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
2. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
3. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
4. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
5. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
6. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
7. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
8. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
9. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
10. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
11. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
12. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
13. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
14. ___ ___ ___ ___
15. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Name Date Class
Chapter Review (continued)
38 Plate Tectonics
Part B. Concept Review
Directions: Study the following diagram. Then label the parts of Earth’s surface.
Assessment
Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
6. Compare and contrast divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.
7. Describe how convection currents might be the cause of plate tectonics.
8. Why are new ideas often rejected, and what is needed before new ideas should be accepted?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 39
Chapter
Test
Plate Tectonics
I. Testing Concepts
Directions: For each of the following, write the letter of the term or phrase that best completes the sentence.
1. The seafloor spreading theory was proposed by ______
a. Alfred Wegener. c. Abraham Ortelius.
b. Harry Hess. d. Carl Sagan.
2. As Earth’s plates move apart at some boundaries, they collide at others, forming ______
a. mountains and volcanoes. c. strike-slip faults.
b. ocean basins. d. both a and b.
3. The youngest rocks in the ocean floor are located at the mid-ocean ______
a. volcanoes. b. basins. c. trenches. d. ridges.
4. The results of plate movement can be seen at ______
a. rift valleys. c. plate centers.
b. plate boundaries. d. both a and b.
5. The ______ are forming where the Indo-Australian plate collides into the Eurasian plate.
a. Andes mountain range c. Himalayas
b. Rocky Mountains d. Appalachian Mountains
6. The presence of the same ______ on several continents supports the idea of
continental drift.
a. fossils b. rocks c. neither a nor b d. both a and b
7. Continental drift occurs because of ______
a. seafloor spreading. c. magnetic reversal.
b. Pangaea. d. earthquakes.
8. The cycle of heating, rising, cooling, and sinking is called a ______
a. subduction zone. c. convection current.
b. convergent boundary. d. conduction current.
9. Oceanic plates are pushed down into the upper mantle in ______
a. convection currents. c. strike-slip faults.
b. subduction zones. d. divergent boundaries.
10. The hypothesis that continents have moved slowly to their current locations is called
______
a. continental drift. c. magnetism.
b. continental slope. d. convection.
11. Plates move apart at ______ boundaries.
a. convergent b. transform c. divergent d. magnetic
12. Ocean floor rocks are ______ continental rocks.
a. more eroded than c. younger than
b. older than d. the same age as
Assessment

Name Date Class
Chapter Test (continued)
40 Plate Tectonics
13. The alignment of iron-bearing minerals in rocks when they formed reflects the fact
that Earth’s ______ has reversed itself several times in its past.
a. magnetic field b. core c. asthenosphere d. gravity
14. The lack of an explanation for continental drift prevented many scientists from
believing a single supercontinent called ______ once existed.
a. Glomar b. Glossopteris c. Pangaea d. Mesosaurus
15. Scientists aboard the Glomar Challenger added to the evidence for the theory of
seafloor spreading by providing ______
a. high altitude photos of existing continents.
b. samples of plant life from different locations.
c. samples of rock from different locations.
d. direct measurements of the movement of continents.
16. Where plates slide past one another, ______ occur.
a. volcanoes b. earthquakes c. island arcs d. ocean trenches
17. The places between plates moving together are called ______
a. divergent boundaries. c. strike-slip faults.
b. convergent boundaries. d. lithospheres.
18. Seafloor spreading occurs because ______
a. new material is being added to the asthenosphere.
b. earthquakes break apart the ocean floor.
c. sediments accumulate on the ocean floor.
d. hot, less-dense material below Earth’s crust is forced upward toward the surface.
19. Studying the ocean floor, scientists found rocks showing magnetic ______
a. weakening. b. reversal. c. bonds. d. poles.
Directions: Complete the following sentences using the correct terms.
20. The theory that describes Earth’s crust and upper mantle as being broken into sections is
called ____________________.
21. The theory of ____________________ was shown to be correct by age evidence and
magnetic clues.
22. ____________________, occurring in the mantle, are thought to be the force behind plate
tectonics.
23. Earth’s plasticlike layer is the ____________________.
24. Earth’s ____________________ move around on a special layer of the mantle.
25. The main lines of evidence for ____________________ are fossil, rock, and climate clues, and
the theory of seafloor spreading.
26. The rigid part of the plates of the ____________________ are made of oceanic crust or
continental crust and upper mantle.
27. The name ____________________ means “all land.”
Assessment

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 41
II. Understanding Concepts
1. What is the difference between a convergent and a divergent plate boundary?
2. What happens to warmer material in a convection current?
3. What observation led Albert Wegener to develop the hypothesis of continental drift?
4. Which part of Earth’s structure is about 100 km thick?
5. How were the Andes mountain range, the Himalayas, and the islands of Japan formed alike?
6. How were the Andes mountain range, the Himalayas, and the islands of Japan formed differently?
Skill: Recognizing Cause and Effect
7. What causes new material to form at a mid-ocean ridge on the ocean floor?
Assessment

Name Date Class
42 Plate Tectonics
III. Applying Concepts
1. Why are there few volcanoes in the Himalayas?
2. Glacial deposits often form at a high latitude near the poles. Explain why glacial deposits have
been found in Africa.
3. Why would the fossil of an ocean fish found on two different continents NOT be good
evidence of continental drift?
IV. Writing Skills
Directions: Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
1. Explain how research from the Glomar Challenger helped scientists support the theory of
seafloor spreading.
2. Since new crust is constantly being added, why does Earth’s surface not keep expanding?
Assessment

Transparency
Activities
Plate Tectonics 43
TransparencyActivities

Name Date Class
44 Plate Tectonics
A Cold DigSection Focus
Transparency Activity11
If you were interested in the fossils of an animal that liked warm
weather, would you think of digging in Antarctica? Archaeologists
have found many interesting fossils there, including parts of a
hadrosaur, a dinosaur previously found only in the Americas.
1. Antarctica has a very inhospitable climate. Why might fossils of
warm-weather animals be found there?
2. What are some reasons that the climate of Antarctica might
change in the future?

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 45
The Main EventSection Focus
Until recently, the bottom of the sea was impossible to see. New
technology has improved the view, and today we have a better idea of
what is going on there. This photo shows one feature of the ocean
floor—a deep-sea vent.
1. What is occurring in the photograph?
2. What features on land are similar to this deep-sea vent?
3. Judging from the photo, what do you think conditions around
this vent are like?

Name Date Class
46 Plate Tectonics
Valley of Ten
Thousand Smokes
Section Focus
One of the most massive volcanic eruptions ever investigated
occurred in a valley in southern Alaska in 1912. The eruption covered
over forty square miles with ash as deep as 210 meters and left thou-
sands of vents (called fumaroles) in the valley spewing steam and gas.
1. How did this valley get its name, the Valley of Ten Thousand
Smokes?
2. Why don’t you see any smoke in the photograph?
3. Name some other places where there are volcanoes.

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 47
Plates of the
Lithosphere
Teaching Transparency
Activity33
PACIFIC
PLATE
NORTHAMERICAN
PLATE
SOUTH
AMERICAN
PLATE
AFRICANPLATE
EURASIANPLATE
PACIFIC
PLATE
INDO-AUSTRALIAN
PLATE
ANTARCTIC
PLATE
ANTARCTIC
PLATE
PHILIPPINE
PLATE
NORTH
AMERICAN
PLATE
COCOSPLATE
SCOTIAPLATE
ARABIAN
PLATE
NAZCA
PLATE
CARIBBEAN
PLATE
JUANDEFUCA
PLATE
Convergentboundary
Divergentboundary
Strike-slipboundary

48 Plate Tectonics
Name Date Class
Teaching Transparency Activity (continued)
1. What makes up the lithosphere?
2. What is a convergent boundary?
3. What type of boundary is on the western coast of South America?
4. Which plate is covering most of two continents? What two continents?
5. What kind of boundary forms the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
6. What two plates form the boundary on the western coast of Canada?

Name Date Class
Plate Tectonics 49
Assessment
Transparency Activity
Plate Tectonics
Directions: Carefullyreviewthediagramandanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Which is the oldest rock layer in the picture?
A W C Y
B X D Z
2. The arrows indicate the directions the two plates are moving.
What is this type of boundary called?
F convergent boundary H transform boundary
G divergent boundary J moving boundary
3. Which of the following is the danger most likely posed by the rock
formation shown in the diagram?
A flooding
B earthquake
C tornado
D forest fire
W
X
Y
Z

Plate Tectonics T1
Content Outline for Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T2
Spanish Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T5
Teacher Guide and Answers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . T9
Teacher Support
and Planning

T2 Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics
Section 1 Continental Drift
A. The continental drift hypothesis—continents have moved slowly to
their current locations
1. All continents were once connected as one large landmass now called Pangaea.
2. The land mass broke apart, and the continents drifted to their present positions.
3. Evidence for continental drift
a. Puzzle-like fit of the continents
b. Similar fossils have been found on different continents.
c. Remains of warm-weather plants in Arctic areas and glacial deposits in tropical areas
suggest that continents have moved.
d. Similar rock structures are found on different continents.
B. At first, continental drift was not accepted because no one could explain how or why
continents had moved.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
Why is the fact that similar fossils have been found on different continents considered evidence for
continental drift? If fossils of similar plants and animals are found on widely separated continents, it is
more likely that the continents had once been joined than that the plants and animals migrated.
Section 2 Seafloor Spreading
A. Using sound waves, scientists discovered a system of underwater mountain ranges called the
mid-ocean ridges in many oceans.
B. In the 1960s, Harry Hess suggested the theory of seafloor spreading to explain the ridges.
1. Hot, less dense material below Earth’s crust rises upward to the surface at the mid-ocean ridges.
2. Then, it flows sideways, carrying the seafloor away from the ridge.
3. As the seafloor spreads apart, magma moves up and flows from the cracks, cools, and forms
new seafloor.
C. Evidence for seafloor spreading
1. Youngest rocks are located at mid-ocean ridges.
2. Reversals of Earth’s magnetic field are recorded by rocks in strips parallel to ridges.
How could seafloor spreading be related to continental drift? If the seafloor is constantly spreading
apart and moving, it will affect and move the continents as well.
Underlined words and
phrases are to be filled
in by students on the
Note-taking Worksheet.
TeacherSupport&Planning
Content Outline
for Teaching

Plate Tectonics T3
Section 3 Theory of Plate Tectonics
A. Plate movements
1. Earth’s crust and upper mantle are broken into sections.
2. The sections, called plates, move on a plasticlike layer of the mantle.
3. The plates and upper mantle form the lithosphere.
4. The plasticlike layer below the lithosphere is called the asthenosphere.
B. Plate boundaries
1. Plates moving apart—divergent boundaries
2. Plates moving together—convergent boundaries
a. Denser plates sink under less dense plates.
b. Newly formed hot magma forced upward forms volcanic mountains.
3. Plates collide
a. Plates crumple up to form mountain ranges.
b. Earthquakes are common.
4. Plates slide past—called transform boundaries; sudden movement can cause earthquakes.
C. Convection inside Earth—the cycle of heating, rising, cooling, and sinking of material inside
Earth is thought to be the force behind plate tectonics.
D. Features caused by plate tectonics
1. Faults and rift valleys
2. Mountains and volcanoes
3. Strike-slip faults—cause of earthquakes
E. Testing for plate tectonics—scientists can measure movements as little as 1 cm per year.
What will happen if a continental plate collides with an oceanic plate? A continental plate with a
continental plate? Why? The denser plate will always subduct, or bend under, the less dense plate.
Oceanic plates are denser than continental plates, so the oceanic plate will sink under it. When two
continental plates collide, neither will subduct because they are both less dense than the asthenosphere
beneath them. Instead, they will crumple up and form mountain ranges.
Content Outline for Teaching (continued)

Tectónica de las placas T5
Spanish
Resources
Deriva continental
Lo que aprenderás
■ A describir la hipótesis de la deriva
continental.
■ A identificar la prueba que apoya la deriva
continental.
Vocabulario
continental drift / deriva continental: hipó-
tesis de Wegener que afirmaba que todos los
continentes estuvieron unidos en algún
momento formando una sola masa conti-
nental, la cual se separó hace unos 200 mi-
llones de años, haciendo que los continentes
derivaran lentamente a sus posiciones
actuales.
Pangaea / Pangaea: masa de tierra extensa y
antigua que una vez estuvo formada por
todos los continentes.
Por qué es importante
La hipótesis de la deriva continental condujo a
la tectónica de placas, la cual es una teoría que
explica muchos procesos dentro de la Tierra.
Expansión del suelo marino
Lo que aprenderás
■ A explicar la expansión del suelo marino.
■ A reconocer la forma en que las pistas sobre
la edad y la prueba del magnetismo apoyan
la expansión del suelo marino.
Vocabulario
seafloor spreading / expansión del suelo
marino: teoría de Hess que afirma que el
nuevo suelo marino se forma cuando el
magma es forzado a subir a la superficie en
una dorsal mediooceánica.
La expansión del suelo marino ayuda a
explicar por qué se separaron los continentes.
Tasas de expansión
del suelo marino
¿De qué forma usaron los científicos su
conocimiento sobre la expansión del suelo
marino y las inversiones del campo magnético
para reconstruir Pangaea? Haz esta laboratorio
para ver si puedes determinar dónde pudo
estar situado un continente en el pasado.
Preguntas del mundo real
¿Puedes usar claves tales como las inversiones
del campo magnético de la Tierra, para ayu-
darte a reconstruir Pangaea?
Materiales
regla métrica
lápiz
libro de texto
Metas
■ Interpretar datos sobre las inversiones del
campo magnético. Usa las claves del magne-
tismo para reconstruir Pangaea.
Procedimiento
1. Estudia la gráfica del campo magnético que
aparece arriba. Sólo trabajarás con las
polaridades normales, las cuales son los
picos sobre la línea base en la mitad supe-
rior de la gráfica.
2. Coloca el borde largo de la regla en forma
vertical sobre la gráfica. Desliza la regla
hasta que esté alineada con el centro del
pico 1 al oeste de la dorsal mediooceánica.
3. Determina y anota la distancia y la edad
que corresponden al centro del pico 1 hacia
el oeste. Repite este proceso con el pico 1 al
este de la cordillera.
4. Calcula la edad promedio y la distancia
entre este par de picos.
5. Repite los pasos del 2 al 4 para los restantes
pares de picos con polaridad normal.
6. Calcula la tasa de movimiento en cm por
año para seis pares de picos. Usa la fórmula
tasa = distancia/tiempo. Convierte kilóme-
tros a centímetros. Por ejemplo, para calcu-

T6 Tectónica de las placas
Spanish Resources (continued)
lar la tasa usando la polaridad normal del
pico 5, al oeste de la cordillera:
7. tasa = =
=
= 1.25 cm/año
Concluye y aplica
1. Compara la edad de las rocas ígneas que se
encuentran cerca de la dorsal
mediooceánica, con las rocas ígneas que se
encuentran más lejos de la dorsal.
2. Si la distancia desde un punto de la costa
de África a la dorsal mediooceánica es
aproximadamente 2,400 km, calcula hace
cuánto tiempo estuvo ese punto sobre o
cerca de la dorsal mediooceánica.
3. ¿De qué forma podrías usar este método
para reconstruir Pangaea?
Teoría de la tectónica de placas
Lo que aprenderás
■ A comparar y contrastar los diferentes tipos
de límites entre placas.
■ A explicar la forma en que el calor dentro de
la Tierra causa la tectónica de placas.
■ A reconocer relieves causados por la tec-
tónica de placas.
Vocabulario
plate tectonics / tectónica de placas: teoría
que afirma que la corteza y el manto supe-
rior terrestres se separan en placas que flotan
y se mueven sobre una capa viscosa del
manto.
plate / placa: región extensa del manto supe-
rior rígido y de la corteza oceánica o conti-
nental de la Tierra que se mueve sobre la
astenosfera.
lithosphere / litosfera: capa rígida de la Tierra
de unos 100 km de grosor formada por la
corteza y parte del manto superior.
asthenosphere / astenosfera: capa viscosa de
la Tierra donde las placas litosféricas flotan y
se mueven.
convection current / corriente de convección:
corriente en el manto terrestre que transfiere
energía en el interior de la Tierra y que
provee la potencia de la tectónica de placas.
La tectónica de placas explica cómo se forman
muchos de los relieves terrestres.
Usa Internet
Predice la activi-
dad tectónica
El movimiento de las placas terrestres genera
fuerzas que causan la acumulación de energía
en las rocas. La liberación de esta energía
puede producir vibraciones en la Tierra, las
cuales conoces como terremotos. Ocurren
temblores todos los días. Muchos de ellos son
tan leves que no se sienten, pero cada evento le
dice algo nuevo a los científicos acerca del
planeta. Los volcanes activos pueden hacer lo
mismo y con frecuencia se forman en los
límites de las placas.
Preguntas del mundo real
Si conoces la localización de los epicentros de
los terremotos y las erupciones volcánicas,
¿podrás predecir dónde se encuentran las
áreas tectónicamente activas?
Formula una hipótesis
Piensa en los sitios en donde han ocurrido
terremotos y volcanes en el pasado. Formula
una hipótesis sobre la posibilidad de predecir
la localización de las áreas tectónicamente
activas, basándote en la posición de los epi-
centros de los terremotos y la actividad vol-
cánica.
Metas
■ Investigar la posición de los terremotos y las
erupciones volcánicas en varias partes del
mundo.
1,250,000 cm
1,000,000 años
12.5 km
millones de años
125 km
10 millones de años

Tectónica de las placas T7
■ Marcar en un mapa las posiciones de los epi-
centros de los terremotos y de las erupciones
volcánicas, las cuales obtuviste del sitio Web
de msscience.com.
■ Predecir la localización de áreas tectónica-
mente activas basándote en tu diagrama de
las posiciones de los epicentros de los terre-
motos y de los volcanes activos.
Diseña un plan
1. En tu Diario de ciencias, haz una tabla para
datos como la que se muestra.
2. Recoge datos sobre los epicentros de los ter-
remotos y las erupciones volcánicas durante
por lo menos las dos últimas semanas. Tus
datos deben incluir la longitud y la latitud
de cada localidad. Para obtener ayuda, con-
sulta las fuentes de datos que se presentan
en la página opuesta.
Sigue tu plan
1. Antes de comenzar, asegúrate de que tu
maestro(a) apruebe tu plan.
2. Marca la localización de los epicentros de los
terremotos y de las erupciones volcánicas en
un mapamundi. Usa una cubierta de papel
de calcar o de plástico.
3. Después de recoger los datos que necesitas,
predice dónde están las áreas tectónicamente
activas de la Tierra.
4. Compara y contrasta las áreas que tú predi-
jiste como tectónicamente activas con el
mapa de los límites de placas que se muestra
en la Figura 9.
Analiza tus datos
1. ¿Cuáles áreas de la Tierra predices tú como
tectónicamente activas?
2. ¿Cuánto se aproximó tu predicción a la
localización real de las áreas tectónicamente
activas?
Concluye y aplica
1. ¿Qué podrías hacer para lograr que tus
predicciones estén más cerca de las posi-
ciones reales de áreas de actividad tectónica?
2. ¿Crees que ayudaría obtener datos de un
período de tiempo más largo? Explica.
3. ¿Qué tipos de límites de placas están cerca
de tus posiciones de epicentros de terremo-
tos? ¿De erupciones volcánicas?
4. Explica cuáles tipos de límites de placas pro-
ducen erupciones volcánicas. Sé específico.
Guía de estudio
Sección 1 Deriva continental
1. Alfred Wegener sugirió que los continentes
estuvieron unidos una vez, formando una
gran masa que llamó Pangaea. Wegener pro-
puso que los continentes se han movido
lentamente durante millones de años, hasta
sus posiciones actuales.
2. El encaje de los continentes como si fueran
un rompecabezas, los fósiles, los indicios
climáticos y las estructuras similares de las
rocas, apoyan las ideas de Wegener sobre la
deriva continental. Sin embargo, Wegener no
pudo explicar un proceso que causara el
movimiento de las masas de tierra. ¿De qué
forma apoyan los fósiles la hipótesis de la
deriva continental?
Sección 2 Expansión del suelo marino
1. El trazado de mapas detallados del suelo
marino en los años 50, mostró la existencia
de montañas y valles submarinos.
2. En la década de 1960, Harry Hess sugirió la
expansión del suelo marino como expli-
cación para la formación de las dorsales
Repasa las ideas principales
Localización de epicentros y erupciones
Epicentro del terremoto/
erupción volcánica Longitud Latitud

T8 Tectónica de las placas
mediooceánicas. ¿De qué forma conservan las
rocas la prueba magnética cuando se forman
en la dorsal mediooceánica?
3. La teoría de la expansión del suelo marino
tiene apoyo en la prueba del magnetismo de
las rocas y en las edades de las rocas del
suelo marino.
Sección 3 Teoría de la tectónica de placas
1. En la década de 1960, los científicos combi-
naron las ideas de la deriva continental con
las ideas de la expansión del suelo marino
para desarrollar la teoría de la tectónica de
placas. La teoría dice que la superficie terres-
tre está dividida en secciones llamadas pla-
cas, las cuales se mueven sobre la astenosfera.
2. Las corrientes en el manto de la Tierra, lla-
madas corrientes de convección, transfieren
el calor en el interior de la Tierra. Las placas
se mueven como resultado de esta transfe-
rencia de calor.
3. La Tierra es un planeta dinámico. Cuando
las placas se mueven, interaccionan, lo que
produce muchos de los relieves de la super-
ficie terrestre. ¿De qué manera forman mon-
tañas las placas convergentes?

Plate Tectonics T9
Teacher Guide
& Answers
Hands-On Activities
MiniLAB: Try at Home (page 3)
Possible answers: I looked for clues in the pattern of
fossils and “mountain ranges.”
MiniLAB (page 4)
1. Some students will observe currents; others won’t.
2. The transfer of thermal energy from the burner to
the dish warms the water near the bottom of the
dish. The cooler, denser water at the top of the
dish sinks displacing the warmer, less dense water,
which then moves toward the top of the dish. As
the warmer water cools, it becomes denser and
sinks to start the cycle again.
Lab (page 5)
Lab Preview
1. the magnetic field graph in the Data and
Observation section
2. rate = distance/time
Conclude and Apply
1. The nearer rock is to the ridge, the younger it is.
2. About 192 million years ago, assuming a relatively
constant rate of spreading
3. Students could determine when points on both
coasts were at the ridge. This would mark when at
least part of Pangaea was intact.
Lab: Use the Internet (page 7)
Analyze Your Data
1. Predictions will likely match the locations of plate
boundaries.
2. Answers will depend on data collected. Most
occur along plate boundaries. Hot spot eruptions
may not coincide with plate boundaries.
Conclude and Apply
1. by collecting more data points
2. Yes; it would provide more data, which would
help to more closely pinpoint these areas.
3. Earthquakes: near any type with many near
convergent and transform boundaries; volcanoes:
near divergent boundaries and subduction zones
4. Convergent ocean-ocean and ocean-continental
boundaries where one plate is subducted under
the other produce magma that rises and forms
volcanoes. Volcanoes also form along divergent
boundaries where magma rises through cracks in
the crust, either at mid-ocean ridges or on land in
rift valleys.
Laboratory Activity 1 (page 9)
Lab Note: It is unlikely that any two maps will be
exactly the same. Map should be fairly split on the
interpretation of location X as land or water.
1. Most students will indicate that it was land
because it is located between places where fossils
of small mammals and dinosaurs were found.
2. Answers will vary, because it is located between
areas where fossils of land organisms and ocean
organisms were found.
3. Because it is located between areas where fossils of
land organisms and ocean organisms were found,
some students will make it land while others will
make it ocean. You could only know for sure if
you found Mesozoic fossils at that location.
4. Answers will vary, depending on where students
drew the shoreline of the land near location H.
5. The continent must have moved. During the
Mesozoic it must have been located near the
equator for corals to have grown in the oceans.
Laboratory Activity 2 (page 13)
Students’ data will vary. When observing the bubbles
at the beginning of the experiments, students should
notice that the bubbles tend to collect under the
pieces of foam and coalesce. Bubbles will grow larger
and larger until they slip to the sides of the foam and
escape. Where two pieces of foam are touching, the
bubbles will escape fairly vigorously. Eventually they
will almost explode or pop. This action should lead
students to consider the pressure and activity of
magma and volcanoes at continental plate margins.
When students observe the movement of their foam
pieces during a full boil, they should see that the
pieces are circulated from the center of the pot up to
the top and out to the sides of the pot. There they
will either get stuck or recirculate. Either way it is
important that students draw inferences about the
behavior and motion of crustal plates from the
activity of their foam continents.
At the end of the experiment most students will not
see much change in their foam continents. They
should conclude that unlike real plates, the foam
ones did not melt or break apart.

T10 Plate Tectonics
Teacher Guide & Answers (continued)
1. The bubbles were stuck under the foam. They
grew together and formed one large bubble.
Then the large bubbles floated to the sides of
the foam where they burst up between two
pieces of foam.
2. The action of the bubbles is similar to that of a
volcano. The bubbles were like magma that
increases in pressure at weak points along plate
boundaries. It escapes like the bubbles in an
explosion.
3. At first it seemed as though the foam went all
over the place. After a while, the pattern was
noticeable: the foam went down at the sides of
the pot and up in the middle of the boiling
water.
4. The tectonic plates move along the hot liquid
mantle just like the foam. When they cannot
move any farther they get stuck, like the Indian
plate, or go under, like the Pacific plate.
5. This experiment is different because the foam
never changed shape or cracked. In the real
world, the plates change according to the kinds
of forces acting on them. As a result, the plates
of crust are moved by convection currents and
broken up on the boiling surface of the mantle.
6. If the convection currents in the mantle changed
direction or stopped, the tectonic plates would
also stop. Everything would stay right where it is.
Volcanoes and earthquakes might stop.
Meeting Individual Needs
Directed Reading for Content Mastery (page 19)
Overview (page 19)
1. b
2. a
3. c
4. Fossils
5. youngest
6. heat
Sections 1 and 2 (page 20)
1. continents
2. Pangaea
3. Africa
4. Arctic
5. rock
6. seafloor spreading
7. c
8. b
9. d
10. a
Section 3 (page 21)
1. b
2. b
3. b
4. a
5. a
(6–8 can be in any order)
6. volcanic islands
7. deep-sea trenches
8. volcanic mountains
(9–10 can be in any order)
9. mid-ocean ridges
10. rift valleys
11. major earthquakes
Key Terms (page 22)
1. drift
2. Pangaea
3. convection
4. mantle
5. lithosphere
6. asthenosphere
7. spreading
8. plates
9. tectonics
Lectura dirigida para Dominio del contenido (pág. 23)
Sinopsis (pág. 23)
1. b
2. a
3. c
4. rocas, fósiles, clima
5. más recientes
6. térmica
Secciones 1 y 2 (pág. 24)
1. continentes
2. Pangaea
3. África
4. Árctico
5. roca
6. expansión del suelo marino
7. c
8. b
9. d
10. a
Sección 3 (pág. 25)
1. b
2. b
3. b
4. a
5. a
6–8 pueden estar en cualquier orden
6. islas volcánicas
7. fosas oceánicas
8. montañas volcánicas
9–10 pueden estar en cualquier orden
9. dorsales mediooceánicas
10. valles de dislocación
11. terremotos fuertes
Términos claves (pág. 26)
1. deriva
2. Pangaea
3. convección

Plate Tectonics T11
4. manto
5. litosfera
6. astenosfera
7. expansión
8. coloides
9. placas
10. tectónica
Reinforcement (page 27)
Section 1 (page 27)
1. f
2. e
3. g
4. b
5. a
6. c
7. d
8. The fossil plant Glossopteris has been found on
five continents. Its presence in so many diverse
climate areas support Wegener’s hypothesis that
these areas were once connected and had similar
climates.
9. Although Wegener explained his hypothesis and
its supporting evidence, he could not explain
how, when, or why continental drift had
occurred. Without these explanations, most
people could not accept such a different idea.
Today scientists believe seafloor spreading may
explain how the continents would move.
Section 2 (page 28)
1. During the 1940s and 1950s, scientists began
using sound waves on moving ships to map
large areas of the ocean floor.
2. The youngest rocks are found at the mid-ocean
ridges.
3. Henry Hess proposed a theory known as
seafloor spreading to explain what formed
ocean ridges.
4. As the seafloor spreads, hot magma moves
upward and flows from the cracks.
5. As the new seafloor moves away from the ridge,
it cools, contracts, and begins to sink, helping to
form the ridge.
6. The research ship Glomar Challenger was
equipped with a drilling rig that allowed
scientists to drill into the seafloor to obtain rock
samples.
7. Rocks on the seafloor are much younger than
many continental rocks.
8. When plates collide, the denser plate will
subduct.
9. Earth’s magnetic field has reversed itself many
times in the past.
10. The magnetic alignment in the rocks reverses
back and forth over time in stripes parallel to
the mid-ocean ridges.
Section 3 (page 29)
1. plate tectonics
2. plates
3. lithosphere
4. asthenosphere
5. convection
6. divergent boundary; plates move apart
7. convergent boundary; an ocean plate sinks
under a continental plate, or one plate sinks
under another ocean plate at a subduction zone.
8. convergent boundary; two continental plates
collide and crumple up, forming mountain
ranges
9. transform boundary; occurs when two plates
slide past one another in opposite directions or
in the same direction at different speeds
Enrichment (page 30)
Section 1 (page 30)
1. Iceland
2. The oldest volcanoes are found at the outer ends
of the island. They are separated by bands of
more recent volcanoes. The most recent volca-
noes are found at the center of the island.
3. The results of seafloor spreading can be
observed on dry land in Iceland, without the
need for deep-sea measuring instruments.
Section 2 (page 31)
1. As the Juan de Fuca plate moves eastward away
from the Pacific plate, hot magma pushes up
from below the seafloor, forming volcanoes such
as Axial. As erupting lava fills in the growing gap
between the two plates, new seafloor is formed.
2. the Cascade mountain range
3. The rocks near Axial are young because they are
formed in an area where new seafloor is form-
ing, at a mid-ocean ridge. The rocks in Oregon
are much older because they are located far
from the center of seafloor spreading.
Section 3 (page 32)
1. See students’ maps.
2. at the convergent boundaries
3. Students’ results will vary somewhat. Differences
may result from how far the students move the
pieces along the boundaries.
4. Answers will vary.
Note-taking Worksheet (page 33)
Refer to Teacher Outline, student answers are
underlined.
Assessment
Chapter Review (page 37)
Part A. Vocabulary Review
1. asthenosphere (6/3)
2. convection current (6/3)
3. plate tectonics (5/3)

T12 Plate Tectonics
4. subduction zone (5/3)
5. transform boundary (5/3)
6. convergent boundary (5/3)
7. lithosphere (6/3)
8. magnetometer (4/2)
9. Pangaea (1/1)
10. continental drift (1/1)
11. divergent boundary (5/3)
12. plates (5/3)
13. mantle (6/3)
14. crust (6/3)
15. strike-slip fault (7/3)
16. seafloor spreading (3/2)
Part B. Concept Review
1. crust (6/3)
4. oceanic crust (6/3)
5. upper mantle (6/3)
6. All are boundaries of tectonic plates, but they
behave in different ways. At divergent bound-
aries, plates move away from each other. Con-
vergent boundaries occur when two plates move
together. Then one of three things will happen:
one plate may sink under the other; one plate
may bend and slide under the other; or both
may crumple. A transform boundary occurs
when two plates slide past one another. (5/3)
7. Scientists hypothesize that the cycle of heating,
rising, cooling, and sinking of the hot, plasti-
clike rock in the asthenosphere provides the
energy to move plates in the lithosphere. (6/3)
8. Some new ideas are so different from people’s
thinking that people cannot accept them. New
ideas should be backed by some evidence before
they are accepted. (1/1)
Chapter Test (page 39)
I. Testing Concepts
1. b (3/2)
2. d (7/3)
3. d (4/2)
4. d (7/3)
5. c (7/3)
6. d (2/1)
7. a (3/2)
8. c (6/3)
9. b (5/3)
10. a (1/1)
11. c (5/3)
12. c (4/2)
13. a (4/2)
14. c (2/1)
15. c (4/2)
16. b (7/3)
17. b (5/3)
18. d (3/2)
19. b (4/2)
20. plate tectonics (6/3)
21. seafloor spreading (4/2)
22. Convection currents (6/3)
24. plates (5/3)
25. continental drift (2/1)
27. Pangaea (1/1)
II. Understanding Concepts
1. Convergent plates move together. Divergent
plates move apart. (5/3)
2. Warmer material rises. (6/3)
3. The edges of some continents looked as though
they would fit together like a puzzle. (1/1)
5. All were formed at convergent boundaries. (7/3)
6. The Andes were formed at the convergent
boundary of an oceanic plate and a continental
plate. The islands of Japan were formed where
two oceanic plates collided. The Himalayas
formed where two continental plates collided.
(7/3)
7. Hot, less-dense material below Earth’s crust is
forced upward at the mid-ocean ridges. Then it
turns and flows sideways, carrying the seafloor
away from the ridge in both directions. (3/2)
III. Applying Concepts
1. The plates that collide to form the Himalayas
crumple, but no subductions take place.
Volcanoes occur above subduction zones. (5/3)
2. When the continents were connected, they were
covered with ice near Earth’s south pole. (2/1)
3. It’s possible for ocean fish to swim all over the
world, so they could have reached all continents.
(2/1)
IV. Writing Skills
1. The Glomar Challenger had a drilling rig that
allowed scientists to obtain rock samples from
the seafloor. They discovered that the youngest
rocks are located at the mid-ocean ridges. The
rocks became increasingly older in samples
obtained farther from the ridges, adding to the
evidence for seafloor spreading. (4/2)
2. As new crust is added in one place, it disappears
below the surface in another. The disappearance
of crust can occur when seafloor cools, becomes
denser, and sinks. This occurs when two plates
meet at a convergent boundary. (5/3)

Plate Tectonics T13
Transparency Activities
Section Focus Transparency 1 (page 44)
A Cold Dig
Transparency Teaching Tips
■ You may use this transparency to introduce
continental drift. Point out that temperatures in
Antarctica range from 0°C (32°F) to around
–90°C (–130°F), and the continent is buried
under several thousand feet of ice. Ask the
students to hypothesize how fossils of leafy plants
and various warm-climate animals came to be
found in Antarctica.
■ Explain that 400 million years ago all of Earth’s
continents, including Antarctica, were joined
together. Use a map to illustrate how the
continents fit together.
■ Ask the students to explain the process by which
the continents became separated (continental
drift/plate tectonics).
■ Explain that when the continents were joined,
Antarctica experienced warm weather and great
numbers of flora and fauna. Slowly pushed apart
by convection currents (heating, rising, cooling,
sinking of magma within Earth), the plates
traveled to their present positions.
Content Background
■ The continents began drifting apart around 200
million years ago. Antarctica moved toward its
current position about 70 million years ago.
■ Alfred Wegener first proposed the theory of
continental drift in 1912. He named the one
continent Pangaea, which is Greek for “all of Earth”.
■ The hadrosaur, or the crested duckbilled dinosaur,
was most common in North America, Europe,
and Asia, between 65 and 100 million years ago.
Answers to Student Worksheet
1. Antarctica was once warm and had many kinds of
plants and animals. Even though its climate
changed, the fossils of these warm-weather living
things remain.
2. The continents continue to move. Events could
also cause worldwide temperatures to rise, and
that would impact Antarctica.
The Main Event
■ This is an introduction to plate tectonics and the
forces it releases. If possible, draw the major fault
lines (see book for guide) on a large map. Point
out that most of them occur in the oceans called
seafloor spreading.
■ Ask the students to consider these faults lines and
their relationship to what is shown on the
overhead.
Content Background
■ The feature shown on the transparency is a type
of hydrothermal vent called a black smoker. This
particular vent is the Saracen’s Head vent, and the
image was made by the ALVIN deep-sea vehicle
during exploration of the Broken Spur Vent Field,
which is located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. While
the water at this depth (3,100 m) is usually very
cold, temperatures at the vent are around 360°C.
The black smoke is composed of minerals, often
sulfur compounds, from Earth’s interior.
■ The surface of Earth is comprised of approximately
30 rigid plates. These plates are moving slowly,
relative to each other. Each plate includes the crust
and the outermost mantle. When these tectonic
plates move, they carry the continents and ocean
floors with them. It is at the plate boundaries
where the action occurs. When the plates are
moving apart in an underwater area, the ocean
floor spreads, and magma wells to the surface to fill
the gap. This creates underwater mountain ranges
called ocean ridges. When plates move apart on
land, they cause rifts.
■ When continental plates converge, one crust is
thrust downward and the other upward. This
process can create mountains and generate
earthquakes and volcanoes.
■ When the plates move horizontally relative to
each other, it is called a transform fault (such as
the San Andreas fault in California).
■ The ocean floor consists of a dense rock called
basalt. The continents are underlined with granite,
a rock less dense than basalt, which explains why
they are elevated relative to the ocean floor.
1. Black smoke is escaping from a deep-sea vent.
Students may realize the smoke is composed of
minerals escaping from Earth’s interior.
2. Answers include fumaroles, geysers, and
volcanoes. These are various forms of geothermal
activity.
3. Answers will vary. Students may note that it is
very dark (the light is artificial light from the
exploring vehicle) and probably very hot right at
the vent.
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
■ The concept presented here is plate tectonics.
Explain that the surface of Earth is comprised of
30 plates, each moving independently. One
hypothesis conjectures that convection currents
within Earth are behind the movement of Earth’s
plates
■ Using two flexible sponges, demonstrate how the
plates move apart, slide past one another, and
compress together.

T14 Plate Tectonics
■ The transparency shows the aftermath of the 1912
eruption of the Mount Katmai and Novarupta
volcanoes. One of the largest eruptions in history,
the blast blew almost 30 cubic kilometers of
volcanic matter into the air, causing a high
altitude haze and reducing summer temperature
in surrounding areas by ten percent. Four years
later, thousands of fumaroles were still jetting
streams of gas in excess of 600°C (1,100°F). The
eruption and ash cover destroyed all vestiges of
life in the area.
Content Background
■ The Novarupta eruption was the largest this
century, extruding 15 cubic kilometers of magma,
30 times the amount extruded by the eruption of
Mount St. Helens in 1980. The Novarupta and
Katmai volcanoes lie near the intersection of two
tectonic plates.
■ Because of their isolated locations, the eruptions
of Katmai and Novarupta caused no human
casualties.
1. It got its name from the thousands of vents
spewing steam and gas.
2. The energy that caused the eruption eventually
dissipated, and the vents stopped smoking.
3. Answers will vary. Students may name specific
volcanoes, like Mount St. Helens, Mount Pinatubo
(the Phillipines), and Mauna Kea (Hawaii), or
general areas, like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the
Pacific’s Ring of Fire.
Teaching Transparency (Page 47)
Plates of the Lithosphere
Section 3
■ Using the map on the transparency, have students
locate the Andes, Himalayas, and the island of
Japan.
■ Use the transparency to locate the three types of
plate boundaries indicated in the map’s key.
Reteaching Suggestion
■ Have the students use their text to briefly review
each type of plate boundary shown on the
transparency.
Extensions
Activity: Let students work with partners to
compare and contrast the three types of plate
boundaries.
Challenge: In cooperative learning groups, have the
students make the three types of plate boundaries
with modeling clay. Have each group explain their
model to the class.
1. crust and part of the upper mantle
2. two plates coming together or moving toward
each other
3. convergent boundary
4. Eurasian Plate; Europe and Asia
5. divergent
6. the Juan De Fuca Plate and the North American
Plate
Assessment Transparency (Page 49)
Plate Tectonics
Section 3
Answers
1. D. Students need to use the information in the
cross-sectional drawing to identify the best answer
choice. Level Z is the deepest rock layer, so it must
be the oldest.
2. F. Students need to use the information given by
the arrows to identify the best answer choice. The
boundaries formed by colliding plates are called
convergent boundaries.
3. B. Students must recognize that the movement of
a fault line is a direct cause of an earthquake.
Choice A: No, flooding could be secondary effect
caused by an earthquake, but it is not caused
directly by a fault.
Choice B: Yes, earthquakes are caused by moving
plates.
Choice C: No, tornadoes are caused by weather
systems, not fault lines.
Choice D: No, forest fires could be a secondary
effect caused by an earthquake, but they are not
caused directly by a fault.
Test-Taking Tip
Remind students to watch for qualifiers such as most
likely, most common, least likely, or least common.
Such questions are not looking for absolute answers.

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