Minerals/REEs in Smartphones
Continental Drift
The Rock Cycle
Plate Tectonics
Sustainability
Mixed Bag
100
Smartphones are made up of smaller parts. Name 2 parts of a smartphone.
Antenna, battery, camera, case, flash, logic board, screen, speaker.
100
What two continents did Alfred Wegener focus on when he was first explaining his theory of continental drift?
Africa and South America
100
What are the three types of rocks?
Igenous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary
100
What are the two types of tectonic plates?
Oceanic and Continental
100
What are 3 steps in the life cycle of a smartphone?
1. Design/Choose Materials- Mining
2. Manufacturing
3. Distribution
4. Retail
5. Use
6. Discard
100
Why did I put a few random Oreos around the room earlier in the year?
To demonstrate that Minerals and REEs are unevenly distributed around the Earth.
200
Name 2 minerals or REEs found in smartphones.
Silica, Cassiterite, Bauxite, Sphalerite, Wolframite, Gadolinium, Spodumene, Graphite, Lanthanum, Chalcopyrite, Tetrahedrite, Arsenopyrite, Tantalite, Neodymium
200
What is continental drift?
The theory that all the continents were all connected at one point and over time drifted apart.
200
We classify rocks based on ...
How they are formed
200
What happens at a transform boundary?
The plates slide past each other. Earthquakes are common!
200
In the Electronic Wasteland 60 minutes we watched, where did the ewaste go? What were the impacts on people and the planet?
Hong Kong, China - Damage to the drinking water and health impacts (higher cancer rates, miscarriages, etc)
200
What is Honey's middle name?
Bunny
300
What are most cell phone batteries made of?
Lithium
300
What evidence did Wegener use to support his theory?
1. The shapes of the continents
2. Matching fossils from particular climates
3. Matching rocks
2. Matching fossils from particular climates
3. Matching rocks
300
Metamorphic rocks are formed by ...
heat and pressure
300
What happens at convergent boundaries between oceanic and a continental plates?
The oceanic plate subducts under the continental plate, and a deep trench forms off the coast of the land. Volcanoes along the coast form. 
300
What is one environmental impact of the manufacturing stage of smartphones?
Significant greenhouse gas emissions from the factories
**"Fun" fact - this stage can account for up to 95% of a phone's total carbon footprint
300
What is sonar technology and how is it used to map/visualize the seafloor?
Sonar technology uses sound pulses by emitting a pulse of sound that travels through the water, bounces off the ocean bottom, and returns as an echo. By measuring the time it takes for the sound to return, the depth can be calculated.
400
Are REEs rare?
No, they are actually not rare, but it is difficult to find them in large quantities and they are very hard to mine.
400
Why did other scientists reject Wegener's theory of continental drift?
He couldn't explain HOW the continents moved
400
Igneous rocks are formed by
melting, cooling, and solidification
400
What happens at divergent oceanic-oceanic plate boundaries?
Seafloor spreading! Magma rises up to fill in the gap and usually forms long underwater mountain chains (ridges and rises) 
400
What was one potential solution to make phones more sustainable that you learned about the class pamphlets? Be specific!
Answers vary
400
Describe what convection currents are and how they connect to plate tectonics.
Convection currents are circular movements of hot, less dense material rising and cool, denser material sinking, and they occur in the Earth's mantle due to heat from the core. These currents act like a conveyor belt, dragging the tectonic plates above them, causing them to move apart, collide, and slide past one another, which in turn drives plate tectonics and results in earthquakes, volcanic activity, and mountain formation
500
What is mining?
The process of removing minerals and other materials from the Earth.
500
What new Scientific Theory vindicated (allowed Scientists to see Wegener might have actually been right)?
Plate Tectonics - the scientific theory that the Earth's outer shell, the lithosphere, is divided into large plates that move slowly over the underlying asthenosphere.
500
Sedimentary Rocks are formed by ...
weathering, erosion, cementation, and compaction.
500
What happens at divergent boundaries between two continental plates?
A continental rift valley - a long narrow valley surrounded by cliffs
500
Are the minerals used in smartphones renewable or nonrenewable resources? Why?
Nonrenewable. They cannot be made in a human lifetime
500
What is the name of the plate boundary we live on?
San Andreas Fault
600
What country has a near monopoly on REEs?
China
600
What was the name of the supercontinent in the past, and what is the name of the supercontinent predicted in the future?
Pangea and Pangea Proxima
600
A volcano erupts and some of the mamga makes it to the top of the volcano, but not out of it. It cools. What type of rock formed?
Intrusive igneous rock
600
What types of plates and boundary formed Japan?
Convergent oceanic and oceanic plates. The older plate subducted forming a line of volcanoes called a volcanic island art. 
600
Describe two negative environmental impacts of mining for minerals like lithium or copper.
water pollution, habitat destruction, or soil contamination
600
When was the last major earthquake to hit the Bay Area?
1989