Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Science 10 Module: Unit 1. Earth and Space
Science 10 Module: Unit 1. Earth and Space
In your Grade 9 Science you learned about volcanoes. You learned the position of the
Philippines in the Ring of Fire and its relationship to the presence of active and inactive volcanoes in
our country.
The topics in the first quarter will focus on a theory that explains the existence of volcanoes
and other geologic features. You will use your science skills such as graphing, measuring, analyzing,
interpreting data and inferring to attain the desired outcomes.
The outcomes expected from you first, you should describe the distribution of active
volcanoes, earthquake epicenters and major mountain belts. Second, relate the distribution of active
volcanoes, earthquake epicenters and major mountain belts to Plate Tectonics Theory and finally, you
will describe the different types of plate boundaries.
This module contain a series of activities that will give you an idea about the driving
mechanism behind the motion of the earth’s lithosphere.
I. Introduction:
Our country is blessed with so many land features such as mountains and volcanoes. These
features can be a source of different minerals or can be used for agricultural purposes. The fertile soil
along the slopes and plains of Mayon volcano are utilized by the people to grow their crops. The
Sierra Madre Mountain Range along the northern coast of Luzon is a home to many endemic species
of flora and fauna.
Which part of the earth these features are found? What is the relation of these land features
to the occurrence of earthquakes on earth? Well, this module will help you find answers to these
questions.
In this module, we will study thoroughly the framework that will enable us to understand how
and why several features of the earth continuously change.
II. Objectives:
In this module, you should be able to:
a. describe and relate the distribution of active volcanoes, earthquake epicentres
and major mountain belts to Plate Tectonics Theory.
b. describe the different types of plate boundaries
Choose the correct answer: Write only the letter of the correct answer.
12. What is the location on the earth’s surface above where the earthquake began?
13. You were provided with data showing the arrival time of the P and S waves recorded from three seismic
stations. Which of these can you possibly determine?
14. From the seismogram, the distance to the epicenter can be determined by measuring_
15. You were asked to locate the epicentre of a recent earthquake. Which correct sequence of events should
you follow?
The earth has a solid rigid outer structure called the lithosphere. The lithosphere is composed
of the crust and the upper mantle. The crust is made of solid rocks like sedimentary, metamorphic
and igneous. It has an average density of 2.8 g/cm3 and its thickness ranges from 5 to 50 km. The crust
is thickest in a part where a relatively young mountain is present and thinnest along the ocean floor.
Figure 1.
The lithosphere
There are two kinds of crust; Figure 2, the thicker but less dense continental crust and the denser and
relatively thinner oceanic crust.
According to the plate Tectonics model (Figure 3), the entire lithosphere of the earth is
broken into numerous segments called plates. There are seven relatively large plates and a number of
smaller ones including the Philippine plate. The plates move very slowly but constantly, and this
movement is called tectonics, thus the theory of the moving lithospheric plates is called plate
tectonics. The consequence of the moving plate is called earthquake.
Figure 3. Map of Plate boundaries
Objective
1. Name and search out from the map the major tectonic plates of the world.
2. Classify the tectonic plates as oceanic or continental
Materials
Procedure
1. Analyze the map then labels the major tectonic plates of the world using the words on
the next page of the activity sheet.
https://www.scribd.com/document/413848955/Activity-Session-5-Earth-Science-Consemino
Q1. Classify whether the labelled tectonic plates on the map are oceanic or continental.
Q2. In what specific type of tectonic plate the Philippines is located?
Q3. What major tectonic plates are found around the Philippines?
Q4. Describe the earth’s lithosphere?
NORTH AMERICAN
PLATE
NAZCA PLATE
ARABIAN PLATE
SCOTIA PLATE
SOUTH AMERICAN
PLATE
AUSTRALIAN PLATE
AFRICAN PLATE
INDIAN PLATE
Glossary of terms:
What is a Rock?
The lithosphere is made up of rocks. We see rocks everywhere and most of us take
them for granted. Rocks are made up of minerals. Humans have used the metals and minerals in
rocks since the beginning of civilization. Where do rocks come from? How are they formed? A rock is
a naturally occurring solid made up of a bunch of different minerals. They may come from volcanoes
and others from space called meteorites. There are three main types of rocks, igneous, sedimentary
and metamorphic. Each type is produced in different ways.
Types of Rocks:
Igneous Rocks - Igneous rocks are formed by volcanoes. When a volcano erupts, it spews out
hot molten rock called magma or lava. Eventually the magma will cool down and harden,
either when it reaches the Earth's surface (extrusive) or somewhere within the crust
(intrusive). This hardened magma or lava is called igneous rock. Intrusive igneous rocks cool
off slowly producing large crystals whereas extrusive igneous rocks cool off quickly resulting to
the formation of small crystals. Major examples of igneous rocks include basalt and granite.
Typically, granite makes up large parts of the continents. The seafloor is formed by a dark lava called
basalt.
Basalt Granite
Sedimentary Rocks - Sedimentary rocks are formed by years and years of sediment
compacting together and becoming hard. The layers of sedimentary rocks are called strata.
Generally, something like a stream or river will carry lots of small pieces of rocks and minerals
to a larger body of water. These pieces will settle at the bottom and over a really long time
(perhaps millions of years), they will form into solid rock. Some examples of sedimentary rocks
are shale, limestone, and sandstone.
Figure 6. Sedimentary rock
Metamorphic
Rocks -
Metamorphic
rocks are formed
by great heat and
pressure. They
are generally
found inside the
Earth's crust
where there is
enough heat and
pressure to form
the rocks. Metamorphic rocks are often made from other types of rock. For example, shale, a
sedimentary rock, can be changed, or metamorphosed, into a metamorphic rock such as slate
or gneiss. Other examples of metamorphic rocks include marble, anthracite, soapstone, and
schist.
Rocks of any type can be converted into any other type. The rock cycle is a process in
which rocks are constantly transformed between the three rock types igneous, sedimentary and
metamorphic.
1. Melted rock or magma is sent to the earth's surface by a volcano. It cools and forms an igneous
rock.
2. Next the weather, or a river, and other events will slowly break up this rock into small pieces of
sediment.
3. As sediment builds up and hardens over years, a sedimentary rock is formed.
4. Slowly this sediment rock will get covered with other rocks and end up deep in the Earth's crust.
5. When the pressure and heat get high enough, the sedimentary rock will metamorphose into a
metamorphic rock and the cycle will start over again.
Questions:
Earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth
resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.
Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they cannot be felt to those violent enough
to propel objects and people into the air, and wreak destruction across entire cities. The seismicity,
or seismic activity, of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a period
of time. The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling.
At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and displacing or disrupting the
ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the seabed may be displaced
sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally, volcanic activity.
In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event—whether natural or
caused by humans—that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of
geological faults but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear
tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its hypocenter or focus. The epicenter is the point at
ground level directly above the hypocenter.
What is an Epicenter?
Earthquakes can cause huge amounts of death and destruction. For this reason, understanding them is
vitally important. Like all major events, seismic or otherwise, they have to start somewhere.
The epicenter is the place on the Earth's surface under which they start.
The epicenter on the other hand, is the point on the Earth's surface directly above the hypocenter. This is a
more useful measure for human reporting because it can be shown on a map.
The epicenter is usually the location where the waves from an earthquake are most intense and, as a
result, it is also the location with the most damage. But this isn't always true.
If an earthquake is particularly large, it may run across a large section of the plate boundary. In this case,
the epicenter might only be one of many hotspot locations and damage could be greater elsewhere. In a
2002 Alaskan earthquake of magnitude 7.9, the greatest damage was 330 km away from the epicenter.
The epicenter was at the western edge of the rupture, but more damage occurred at the eastern edge.
Scientists have come up with a number of ways to figure out the location of an epicenter. The
simplest requires the positioning of seismographs, equipment that measure the strength of ground tremors
and earthquakes around the area.
Here are five of the strongest earthquakes that caused major destruction in the
Philippines.
A 7.2-magnitude tremor that killed more than 150 people, destroyed century-old churches and affected more
than 3 million families in Central Visayas. [Image source]
A total of 1530 houses in the coastal areas of Baco and Calapan, Oriental Mindoro were swept away by
a tsunami generated by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake. The tragedy also killed 78 people. [Image source]
This 7.3-magnitude earthquake killed a total of 270 people and also caused massive landslides and tsunami in
Casiguran, Aurora. Almost 300 people were also killed when the Ruby Tower in Binondo collapsed as a result of
the tremor. [Image source]
With a 7.9 magnitude and almost 3,000 casualties, this Mindanao earthquake is officially the strongest and
deadliest earthquake in Philippine history. Almost 40, 000 people in Regions 9 and 12 were also left homeless
by this tragedy.
Questions:
https://filipiknow.net/earthquake-in-the-philippines/
https://study.com/academy/practice/quiz-worksheet-finding-the-epicenter-location-of-an-earthquake.html
During an earthquake, three types of seismic waves are released; Primary (P- wave),
Secondary (S- wave) and long surface waves (L – waves) The first two travel into the earth’s interior ,
while the last one on the surface. These waves travel at different velocities; thus do not arrive at a
seismic recording station at the same time. The farther the recording instrument is from the focus,
the greater the time difference in arrival times of the first P- wave compared to the first S – wave. The
difference in the arrival time will tell us the distance of the earthquake’s focus from the seismic
recording station. However, it does not tell in which direction it came from. Seismic waves are
recorded by a seismograph. The record made is called a seismogram.
If we have at least three recording stations that can tell how far away from them the
earthquake occurred, the epicentre can be determined using the triangulation method. It uses
distance information from three seismic stations to locate the earthquake epicentre. On a map, circles
are drawn around each seismic station. The radii of the circles are scaled to the estimated distance
from the station to the earthquake. The three circles will intersect at a point that locates the
earthquake.
The next activity will give you a first- hand experience on how to locate earthquake epicenter.
Objective:
Locate the epicenter of an earthquake using the triangulation method.
Materials:
Hypothetical records of earthquake waves
Philippine map
Drawing compass and ruler
Procedure:
1.Study the data showing the difference in the arrival time of P-wave and S- wave on
three seismic recording stations.
Where: d = distance(km)
3. Choose one of the recording stations and measure the computed distance on the
map scale( the scale of the map in Figure 3 is 1.5 cm: 200km). Set your compass for that computed
distance.
4. Center your compass on the station you have chosen. Draw a circle.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the rest of the stations. You should get three circles that
intersect or nearly intersect at a point. This intersection is the epicentre.
https://www.google.com/search?q=philippine+map&tbm=isch&ved
Guide questions:
9. What difficulty will you encounter if you only have data from two recording stations?
In the previous activity, the hypothetical earthquake happened locally, that is why we use the formula
stated in the procedure. But, if the earthquake took place at a far greater distance, seismologists use the
distance –time – graph, similar to the figure below in determining the location of the epicenter.
Figure 9. Distance-time graph
The distance –time graph above shows that the S-P interval is about 10 minutes.
10. What is the distance of the epicentre from the seismic station?
Earthquakes are always happening somewhere.Large earthquakes occur about once a year. Smaller
earthquakes, such as magnitude 2 earthquakes, occur several hundred times a day. It is estimated that several
million earthquakes take place on Earth each year, but that most are not even detected by instruments as they
occur in remote areas or have very low magnitudes. And if we factor in the ones that can only be recorded by
our instruments –seismographs– but which are so small that no one can feel them, this figure rises to more
than one million tremors recorded annually.
Earthquake is one of the worst natural disasters. It causes a catastrophe. But do you know why do
earthquakes occur? What are its after-effects? Let’s find out more about it.
Determining the location of earthquake epicenters plays a vital role in laying the foundations of plate
tectonics. Let us see how early geologists used the plotted positions of earthquake epicenters throughout the
world in conceptualizing crustal movements.
Materials:
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+earthquake+epicenters&tbm=isch&ved
Figure 11.Map of earthquake distribution (Red, Green and Blue dots represent earthquake epicenters)
Procedure:
1. Study Figure 11 showing the earthquake distribution around the world. Trace the approximate locations of
several earthquake “ clusters” using a marking pen on one of the plastic sheets.
Questions:
12.How are earthquakes distributed on the map?
13.Where are they located?
14Where are there no earthquakes?
15.Why is it important for us to identify areas which are prone to earthquakes?
Readings:
Volcanoes
There are about 300 volcanoes in the Philippines. Twenty-two (22) of these are active while the
larger percentage remains dormant as of the record. The majority of the active volcanoes are
located in the island of Luzon. The six most active volcanoes are Mayon, Hibok-Hibok, Pinatubo,
Taal, Kanlaon and Bulusan. Why are there several volcanoes in the Philippines? Are there countries
without volcanoes? Find out in the next activity.
Figure
More than 80 percent of the Earth's surface--above and below sea level--is of volcanic origin. Gaseous
emissions from volcanic vents over hundreds of millions of years formed the Earth's earliest oceans and
atmosphere, which supplied the ingredients vital to evolve and sustain life. Over geologic eons, countless
volcanic eruptions have produced mountains, plateaus, and plains, which subsequently eroded and weathered
into majestic landscapes and formed fertile soils.
Top five largest Volcanoes in the world.
Mauna Loa, Hawaii
Mauna Loa is the biggest volcano on Earth. It is 9,170 meters tall. It is a shield volcano. Mauna Loa shares
is a hot spot in the Pacific plate.
Mount Taal
The world's smallest active volcano is probably Mount Taal, located near the city of Tagaytay
in the Philippines. It is a positively gargantuan 508 meters (1,660 feet) high, more than thirty-
nine times the height of Cuexcomate, its Lilliputian cousin .
The most active volcanoes in the world
Kilauea volcano on Hawaii is the world's most active volcano, followed by Etna in Italy and
Piton de la Fournaise on La Réunion island.
Volcanic materials ultimately break down and weather to form some of the most fertile
soils on Earth, cultivation of which has produced abundant food and fostered
civilizations.
The internal heat associated with young volcanic systems has been harnessed to
produce geothermal energy.
Most of the metallic minerals mined in the world--such as copper, gold, silver, lead, and
zinc--are associated with magmas found deep within the roots of extinct volcanoes.
Volcanic hazards
There are two classes of volcanic hazards, direct and indirect. Direct hazards are forces that directly
kill or injure people, or destroy property or wildlife habitat. Indirect hazards are volcanism-induced
environmental changes that lead to distress, famine, or habitat destruction.
Damage to aircraft
A flow of mud and debris down a channel Severe risk of destruction for anything
Lahar leading away from a volcano, triggered either within the channel — lahar mud flows
by an eruption or a severe rain event can move at 10s of km/h
Lava flow The flow of lava away from a volcanic vent People and infrastructure at risk, but
lava flows tend to be slow (km/h) and
are relatively easy to avoid
https://opentextbc.ca/geology/chapter/4-4-volcanic-hazards/
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=d9eabc7a3c64462bb964d1d4bbd765de
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-some-benefits-volcanic-eruptions?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-
news_science_products
Activity 5
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+active+volcanoes&tbm=isch&ved
Figure 13. Map of active volcanoes ( Red areas represent the presence of volcanoes)
18. Based on the map, mention a country that is unlikely to experience a volcanic eruption?
2. On the second plastic sheet, sketch the approximate locations of several volcanoes using a marking pen.
3. Place the earthquake plastic sheet over the volcano plastic sheet.
12. Compare the location of majority of earthquake epicenters with the location of volcanoes around
the world.
A Mountain Range is a sequential chain or series of mountains or hills with similarity in form, structure and
alignment that have arisen from the same cause, usually an orogeny. There are five major Mountain Ranges of
the World which are discussed below:
The Himalayas or Himalaya is form of a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian
subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. It is young fold mountain of the tertiary period, which was folded over
Tethys Sea due to the inter-continental collision. It extends for about 2500 km between Indus and Brahmaputra
gorges from west to east in an arc-shaped manner.
The Alps Mountain Range is the highest and most extensive mountain range system of Europe, stretching
approximately 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Switzerland,
Italy, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia. It plays an important role in the determination of
the climate of Europe.
The Atlas Mountains Range stretches around 2,500 km (1,600 mi) through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It
separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert and inhabited by Berber
populations. It was formed during the Precambrian period.
The Rocky Mountain Range situated in western North America, stretches more than 3,000 miles (4,800
km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the Southwestern
United States. It is protected by public parks and forest lands and is a popular tourist destination, especially for
hiking, camping, mountaineering, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, skiing, and snowboarding.
Study figure 14, the dark red portions indicate mountain ranges of the world.
https://www.google.com/search?q=map+of+mountain+ranges&tbm=isch&ved
Figure 14.Mountain Ranges of the world
19. How will you relate the distribution of mountain ranges with the distribution of earthquake epicenters
and volcanoes?
20. What do you think is the basis of scientists in dividing the Earth’s lithosphere into several plates?
` Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of seven large plates and the
movements of a larger number of smaller plates of the Earth's lithosphere, since tectonic processes began
on Earth between 3.3 and 3.5 billion years ago. From the deepest ocean trench to the tallest
mountain, plate tectonics explains the features and movement of Earth's surface in the present and
the past. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along plate
boundaries in zones that may be anything from a few kilometres to a few hundred kilometres wide.
Name: Date:
Tectonic Plates
1.
The map shows the major tectonic plates. Locate the boundary line between the North
American plate and Eurasian plate as well as the boundary line between the South
American plate and African plate. Which statement best describes the processes
occurring along those boundary lines?
Before scientists invented sonar, many people believed the ocean floor was a completely flat
surface. Now we know that the seafloor is far from flat. In fact, the tallest mountains and
deepest canyons are found on the ocean floor; far taller and deeper than any landforms found
on the continents. The same tectonic forces that create geographical features like volcanoes
and mountains on land create similar features at the bottom of the oceans.
Look at the figure below. If you follow the ocean floor out from the beach at the top left, the
seafloor gently slopes along the continental shelf. The sea floor then drops off steeply along
the continental slope, the true edge of the continent. The smooth, flat regions that make up
40% of the ocean floor are the abyssal plain. Running through all the world’s oceans is a
continuous mountain range, called the mid-ocean ridge(“submarine ridge” in Figure 14.23).
The mid-ocean ridge is formed where tectonic plates are moving apart from each other,
allowing magma to seep out in the space where the plates pulled apart. The mid-ocean ridge
system is 80,000 kilometers in total length and mostly underwater except for a few places like
Iceland. Other underwater mountains include undersea volcanoes (called seamounts), which
may rise more than 1,000 meters above the ocean floor. Those that reach the surface
become volcanic islands, such as the Hawaiian Islands. Deep oceanic trenchesare created
where a tectonic plate dives beneath (subducts) another plate.
Mountains are awesome features of the Earth's surface. It
seems to us like they're permanent features, but like all Earth
features, they're born, evolve, and are eroded away. Typically a
mountain will rise at least 1,000 ft. above sea level. Small
mountains below 1,000 ft. are usually called hills.There are four
main categories of mountains.The first type are volcanic
mountains. These form from volcanic eruptions, Dome
mountains almost similar to a volcanic mountain that are bent
upward and usually isolated and may not belong to a mountain
range. Another type of mountains are fault block mountains.
Fault blocks are basically large pieces of Earth's crust that have
been twisted, and distorted, and upended, and vary in
the continental crust. These may be a combination of a plateau
and a mountain.The largest and most complex type of
mountains are folded mountains. These comprise all the world's
major mountain ranges like the Alps, and the Urals, and the
Himalayas, and the Rockies, and the Appalachians.
https://www.google.com/search?ei=Q4MJX8PeBpnm-
AaSqpL4BA&q=what+are+the+three+major+types+of+mountain&oq=what+are+the+three+major+types+
of+mountain&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzICCAA6BwgAEEcQsAM6BggAEBYQHjoICAAQ6gIQjwE6BAgAEEM6B
wgAELEDEEM6BQgAELEDOggIABCxAxCDAToFCAAQkQI6BAgAEAM6CAgAEBYQChAeUJu5A1jbygRg4dQEaA
VwAHgDgAHRAYgBuTuSAQY2LjU5LjGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6sAEK&sclient=psy-
ab&ved=0ahUKEwiDjJu57sTqAhUZM94KHRKVBE8Q4dUDCAw&uact=5
https://www.ducksters.com/science/earth_science/mountain_geology.php
Mountains provide a unique habitat for animals and vegetation, supporting biodiversity. They
also provide recreation for humans, via sports and natural beauty. Mountains can be a source of
fresh water. Mountains provide for the freshwater needs of more than half of humanity, and are,
in effect, the water towers of the world. ... Mountain ecosystems are important for biological
diversity, particularly in the tropics and warmer temperate latitudes.
The places on earth where most earthquakes originate or mountains and volcanoes were formed mark
the boundaries of each lithospheric plate. Each plate is moving relative to each other, causing geologic
events to happen along their boundaries.
Let’s take a look at the relative motion of the crustal plates in the figure below.
Figure 15 Map showing the relative motion of plates (arrows indicate the direction of motion)
Studying plate boundaries is important because along these boundaries deformation of the
lithosphere is happening. These geologic events have a great impact not only on the environment but also
on us.
There are three distinct types of plate boundaries, which are differentiated by the type of
movement they exhibit.
The first type of plate boundary is termed divergent boundary wherein plates move apart,
creating a zone of tension. Can you identify adjacent plates depicting divergent boundary on Figure 15?
Let’s take the case of the Philippine plate and the Eurasian plate. You will notice that the two
plates are moving toward each other. This is an example of zone where plates collide, and this second
type of plate boundary is called convergent plate boundary.
The third type is the transform fault boundary where plates slide or grind past each other
without diverging or converging. The best example of this is the San Andreas Fault which is bounded by
the North American plate and the Pacific plate.
Objectives
Procedure
1. From the given pictures of plate boundaries examine the movement of each and
classify them as convergent, divergent, and transform.
A. ______________________________________________
B. ________________________________________________
C. ______________________________________________________
Analysis
Q21.Based on the movement as shown in the pictures, how did you classify the plates as
convergent, divergent, and transform?
TRANSFORM
Activity 7.B Based on figure 15, Name the plates where convergent, divergent and transform fault
boundaries are found.
Readings:
Landslides, rock falls, and other types of mass movements may occur in
mountainous or hilly areas. Liquefaction, manifested by sand boils or lateral spread
may affect low-lying, water-logged, sandy areas at the banks of rivers. Tsunami is not
expected from the kind of movement of the Philippine Fault - Surigao segment. The
tsunami threat for Surigao del Norte would come from the movement of the Philippine
Trench, located east of the province.
What should be done by the affected communities?
Analysis
Q24.Illustrate how the involved tectonic plates move in a short bond paper. Label the plates involved and
classify the plate boundary.
Q25.Name the possible threats posed by the movement of tectonic plates based on the
articles/reading materials
Q26. Identify possible survival techniques
https://www.google.com/search?
q=plate+boundaries&tbm=isch&hl=en&chips=q:plate+boundaries,g_1:convergent:aOVJC7fnOJo
%3D,g_1:divergent:8SfKDbisM84%3D&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjywJSBu6PqAhUIdJQKHapbDIIQ4lYoAHoECAEQFg
&biw=1349&bih=657#imgrc=HeUi3vjMt9VxIM
https://www.google.com/search?
q=activity+session+5+consemino&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi9xfqUwaPqAhXdwosBHZBZB6MQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=activity+session+5+consemino&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECAAQQzoFCAAQsQM6AggA
OgYIABAFEB46BggAEAgQHjoECAAQGDoECAAQHlC8TliU5AVg0ewFaAVwAHgCgAGJAYgB7jCSAQUxMy4
0NJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nsAEA&sclient=img&ei=mAb4Xr2ZB92Fr7wPkLOdmAo&bih=657&
biw=1366&hl=en#imgrc=DvUlbT0F7Tj6pM
After learning the different types of plate boundaries, let us now explore the various effects of plate
tectonics on the earth’s lithosphere.
Objectives:
Procedure:
a. Study Figure 16 showing a cross-sectional diagram of plates that are converging,
and answer the questions that follow:
Q27.What type of plate is Plate A? What about Plate B? Why do you say so?
Q28. Describe what happens to plate A as it collides with plate B? Why?
Q29. What do you think may happen to the leading edge of plate A as it continues to move
downward? Why?
Q29. What is formed on top of plate B?
Q30.As the plates continue to grind against each other, what other geologic event could take place?
Converging Oceanic Crust Leading Plate and Continental Crust Leading Plate The previous activity depicts what
happens during collision of two plates; one has continental edge while the other has an oceanic edge. From the
diagram, it is clear that this event gives rise to the formation of a volcanic arc near the edge of a continental
leading plate. The reason for this is because the denser oceanic crust (Plate A) undergoes what we call
subduction process or the bending of the crust towards the mantle. Since the mantle is hotter than the crust,
the tendency is, the subducted crust melt forming magma. Addition of volatile material such as water will
cause the magma to become less dense, hence allowing it to rise and reach the crust once again and causing
volcanic activities on the continental leading plate. For the oceanic crust, one important geologic feature is
formed, and that is the trench. Also called submarine valleys, ocean trenches are the deepest part of the
ocean. One of the deepest is the Philippine trench with a depth of 10 540 meters. Another subsequent effect of
the continuous grinding of plates against each other is the occurrence of earthquakes. The subduction of plate
can cause earthquakes at varying depths. Most parts of the world experience occasional shallow earthquakes –
where the focus is within 60 km of the Earth’s surface. Of the total energy released by earthquakes, 85% comes
from shallow earthquakes. Meanwhile, about 12% of energy originates from intermediate earthquakes or
those quakes with a focal depth range of 60 to 300 km. Lastly, are the deep earthquakes whose origin is more
than 300 km to 700 km below the Earth’s surface. 18 Activity 3 Head-On Collision Part B: Convergence of Two
Oceanic Plates Procedure: 1. Study Figure 11. It shows a cross-section of two converging oceanic plates. 2.
Using your knowledge gained from the previous activity, identify the geologic events or features resulting from
this collision. www.marinebio.net Figure 11. Cross-sectional diagram of converging oceanic plates Q21. What
are the geologic processes/events that will occur because of this plate movement? Q22. What geologic
features might form at the surface of Plate A? Q23. If the edge of Plate A suddenly flicks upward, a large
amount of water may be displaced. What could be formed at the surface of the ocean? Ocean Water Oceanic
Plate B Oceanic Plate A 19 Convergence of Oceanic Plates Like the first type of convergent boundaries
discussed earlier, converging oceanic plates will cause formation of trenches, and these trenches will become
sources of earthquakes. Underwater earthquakes, especially the stronger ones, can generate tsunamis. The
Japanese term for “harbor wave,” tsunami is a series of ocean waves with very long wavelengths (typically
hundreds ofkilometers) caused by large-scale disturbances of the ocean. The leading edge of the subducted
plate will eventually reach the mantle causing it to melt and turn into magma. The molten material will rise to
the surface creating a volcanic island arc parallel to the trench. Volcanic island arc is a chain of volcanoes
position in an arc shape as seen in figure below.