Plate Tectonics
What is a divergent boundary and what is one thing that can occur there?
What is when plates go apart from each other and this can create a rift valley on land and a mid-ocean ridge on the ocean floor.
What is the first wave to occur?
What is a p wave?
What does the Law of Superposition tell us about the age of rock layers?
What is a reference point?
What is a point used to determine if something is in motion. For example, a large rock- getting closer or further away determines that you are moving.
A 10 kg sled is being pulled with a force of 50 N. Friction slows the sled with a force of 10 N. What is the sled’s acceleration? Show your work.
What is 40m/s/s
What is a convergent plate boundary and what is one thing created from it?
What is when two plates go together, creates subduction zones, volcanoes, mountains, etc.
What do seismic waves tell scientists?
What is to let scientists understand the inner regions of the Earth.
A rock layer is tilted due to tectonic activity, but scientists want to know its original order. How could they use the Law of Superposition and fossil evidence to figure out which layer is oldest?
What is by looking at evidence and fossils from both sides to match them up to determine the appropriate age of the fossils
A runner travels 400 meters in 50 seconds. What is the runner’s speed in meters per second?
What is 8m/s
What is the name of the place where most of the world’s volcanoes and earthquakes occur?
What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?
What is a transform plate boundary and what is created because of it?
What is when two plates slide past each other, generally creates earthquakes.
What causes an earthquake to happen?
What is two plates sliding side by side one another and creating all sorts and kinds of friction, you know, when things rub together and it makes it difficult? Kinda like when you take your hand and rub it on the desk, you know, just sum light like that.
During which era did dinosaurs live, and what major event marks the end of that era? How do scientists know this from the rock record?
What is the fact of the cretaceous-period extinction event and scientists can tell because of how many dead organisms are found in this time period, so many species
A soccer ball is sitting on the field. It doesn’t move until a player kicks it. Which law of motion explains why the ball stays at rest until kicked? Explain in your own words.
What is Newton's First Law of Motion.
What are the three main types of volcanoes?
What is cinder-cone, shield, and composite?
What is a subduction zone and where do we commonly see these at?
What is a zone where one plate goes under another plate, typically found near the Pacific Plate.
What tool do scientists use to measure earthquakes?
What is a seismograph?
Why do you believe dinosaurs died from the asteroid impact, the ones who were away from the impact, why did they end up not surviving from the ash and other types of pollutants, but mammals did?
Mammals had adaptations that allowed them to survive in caves and other places away from the smog and ash, whereas dinosaurs were unable to adapt to the changing conditions.
A skateboarder is moving at a constant speed on a smooth sidewalk. Suddenly, the skateboard hits a rock and stops. Why did the skateboarder keep moving forward even after the board stopped?
What is Newton's Second Law of Motion and due to INERTIA?
Two tug‑of‑war teams pull on a rope. Team A pulls with 80 N to the right, and Team B pulls with 80 N to the left.
a) Is the rope accelerating? Why?
b) Now imagine Team B suddenly increases its force to 100 N. What happens to the rope, and why?
What is at the beginning, no, but once Team B increases their force, it does begin to accelerate because it begins increasing speed and changing direction.
Scientists discover a new island chain in the middle of the ocean. The youngest volcano is on the far eastern island, while the islands become older as you move west. The islands are located in the middle of the tectonic plate, far from any plate boundary.
Explain what geological process most likely formed this island chain and describe how the ages of the islands help support your explanation.
A group of scientists notices that a certain region of the world has many earthquakes and active volcanoes. The earthquakes happen frequently and sometimes occur just before a volcano erupts. The area is located along the edge of two tectonic plates.
Explain why earthquakes and volcanoes often occur in the same regions. In your answer, describe what is happening between the tectonic plates and how that movement can lead to both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
What is due to the location often near two plates, where subduction occurs.
A fossil of a sea creature is found in a rock layer high on a mountain. What might this tell us about Earth’s history and plate tectonics?
If a sea creature fossil is found high on a mountain, it means that the area was once underwater, like an ocean or sea. Over millions of years, tectonic forces pushed the land upward, forming mountains. This shows that Earth's surface is dynamic—plates move, and land can rise or fall over time. It also supports the idea that fossils can help scientists reconstruct past environments, even in places very different from today.
What is Inertia?
What is an object's tendency to keep moving in the same direction. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE IN MOTION!!!!!!!!!
Describe how heat from Earth’s core affects convection currents in the mantle and how those currents move tectonic plates. What kind of plate boundary is formed where plates move apart?
What is Heat from Earth’s core warms the lower mantle, causing hot rock to become less dense and rise. Cooler rock near the top of the mantle becomes denser and sinks. This creates convection currents in the mantle.