Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that the Earth’s outer shell, the lithosphere, is broken into large, rigid plates that move slowly over the hotter, more fluid mantle below. This movement is driven by convection currents in the mantle and causes major geological events like earthquakes, volcanoes, and the formation of mountain ranges at the boundaries where the plates interact. Plate movement is also responsible for the long-term drift of continents. In this activity, students make models that demonstrate the relative movement of tectonic plates at three types of plate boundaries (faults) to understand how the movement causes earthquakes and can change the features on Earth’s surface.
Standards alignment
| Standard | Framework | Grade | Subject | Domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGSS Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, Planning and Conducting Investigations, Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Developing and Using Models, Earth Materials and Systems, Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions, Natural Hazards, The History of Planet Earth, Systems and System Models, Cause and Effect, Patterns |