Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

Plate Tectonics Web-Quest

PartI: Earths Structure. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/structure.html
1. Label the layers of Earth in the diagram below.

2. The lithosphere is made up of the ________ and a tiny bit of the _________ ___________.
3. The plates of the lithosphere move (or float) on this hot, malleable __________ _________
zone in the upper mantle, directly underneath the lithosphere. This is known as the
_______________________.
4. The layer of Earth that is the only liquid layer is the ___________ ___________.
Part II. Plate Tectonics. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/drift.html

1. True or False? Image A depicts what Earth looks like today. (circle the correctanswer)

Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

2.What did Earth look like 250 million years ago? The continents of Earth were clustered
together in formation that a scientist named ______________. The scientist that named
Pangaea was a German scientist by the name of ____________ _____________ . He
theorized that Pangaea" split apart and the different landmasses, or continents, drifted to
their current locations on the globe. Wegeners theories of plate movement became the
basis for the development of the theory of ____________ ________________.
3. Order the images of Earths plates in order from oldest or earliest (1) to most recent (5).

Part III. Plates and Boundaries. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/plate.html
1. Name the missing tectonic plates in the blanks on the image below.

NorthAmerica
nrican

African

African
African

African

African

African

2. The place where the two plates meet is called a ____________________. Boundaries have
different names depending on how the two plates are moving in relationship to each other.
A. If two plates are pushing towards each other it is called a _______________________.
B. If two plates are moving apart from each other it is called a ______________________.

Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

C. If two plates are sliding past each other it is a called a __________________________.

3. Label the type of boundary depicted in each image below.

4. Plates and Boundaries Challenge. Follow directions for the challenge. Record your results
below:
Part I. Number of correctly placed plates = __________________________
Part II. Number of boundary types correctly labeled = __________________

Part IV. Slip, Slide, and Collide. Use the following link to find these answers:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/slip.html
1. At convergent boundaries, tectonic plates ___________ with each other. The events that
occur at these boundaries are linked to the types of plates (oceanic or _______________)
that are interacting.

Subduction Zones and Volcanoes

At some convergent boundaries, an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate. Oceanic
crust tends to be ____________ and _____________ than continental crust, so the denser
oceanic crust gets bent and pulled under, or ________________, beneath the lighter and
thicker continental crust. This forms what is called a subduction zone. As the oceanic
crust sinks, a deep oceanic ____________, or valley, is formed at the edge of the
continent. The crust continues to be forced deeper into the earth, where high heat and
pressure cause trapped water and other gasses to be released from it. This, in turn, makes
the base of the crust melt, forming ___________. The magma formed at a subduction
zone rises up toward the earth's surface and builds up in magma chambers, where it feeds
and creates ________________ on the overriding plate. When this magma finds its way to

Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

the surface through a vent in the crust, the volcano erupts, expelling ___________ and
__________. An example of this is the band of active volcanoes that encircle the Pacific
Ocean, often referred to as the Ring of Fire.
Roll your mouse over the image to find the definitions of the words below:
Subduction Zone _______________________________________________________
Magma - _______________________________________________________________
Trench - _______________________________________________________________
Volcano - ______________________________________________________________
Volcanic Arc - ___________________________________________________________
Fill in the type of crust converging in the image below.

A subduction zone is also generated when two oceanic plates collide the older plate is
forced under the ______________ one, and it leads to the formation of chains of volcanic
islands known as ____________ ___________.

Collision Zones and Mountains

What happens when two continental plates collide? Because the rock making up
continental plates is generally lighter and less dense than oceanic rock, it is too light to get
pulled under the earth and turned into magma. Instead, a collision between two continental
plates crunches and folds the rock at the boundary, lifting it up and leading to the formation
of __________________ .

Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

Fill in the type of crust converging in the image below.

Roll your mouse over the image to find the definitions of the words below:
Continental Crust - _____________________________________________________
Mountain - ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. At divergent boundaries, tectonic plates are moving __________ from each other. One
result of huge masses of crust moving apart is ______________ spreading. This occurs
when two plates made of oceanic crust pull apart. A crack in the ocean floor appears and
then magma oozes up from the mantle to fill in the space between the plates, forming a
raised ridge called a _______________ ___________. The magma also spreads outward,
forming _________ ocean floor and _________ oceanic crust.

When two _______________ plates diverge, a valley-like rift develops. This __________ is
a dropped zone where the plates are pulling apart. As the crust widens and thins, valleys
form in and around the area, as do _______________, which may become increasingly
active. Early in the rift formation, streams and rivers flow into the low valleys and long,
narrow lakes can be created. Eventually, the widening crust along the divergent boundary
may become thin enough that a piece of the continent breaks off, forming a new tectonic
plate.

Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

3. At transform boundaries, tectonic plates are not moving directly toward or directly away
from each other. Instead, two tectonic plates ___________ past each other in a horizontal
direction. This kind of boundary results in a _________. A fault is a crack or ___________
in the earth's crust that is associated with this movement.

Transform boundaries and the resulting faults produce many ________________ because
edges of tectonic plates are jagged rather than ____________. As the plates grind past
each other, the jagged edges strike each other, catch, and stick, "locking" the plates in
place for a time. Because the plates are locked together without moving, a lot of
____________ builds up at the fault line. This stress is released in quick bursts when the
plates suddenly slip into new positions. The sudden movement is what we feel as the
shaking and trembling of an earthquake.

The motion of the plates at a transform boundary has given this type of fault another name,
a _________________ ____________. The best-studied strike-slip fault is the San
Andreas Fault in _______________.

4. Complete the Plate Interactions Challenge and Test Skills questions.

My score for Plate Interactions Challenge = __________________________
My score for Test Skills questions = _______

out of 30 or ____ %____

Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

Part V. Questions you should be able to answer now that you completed this webquest.
Note - you may go back to the website and review to assist in answering the following
questions.
1. Deep-ocean ________________ and
_______________ are created by convergent
boundaries of ocean and continental crust.

Convergent Boundary
(ocean continental)

2. Deep-ocean _________________ ,
________________, and _____________ are
created by convergent boundaries of ocean and
ocean crust.
Convergent Boundary
(ocean ocean)

3. ________________________ are created by

convergent boundaries of continental and
continental crust.

Convergent Boundary
(continental continental)

4. Another type of boundary neither creates nor

consumes crust. This type of boundary is called a
_________________ boundary because two plates
move against each other, building up tension, then
release the tension is a sudden jerk of land called
an ____________________.

Name ________________________________

Date ___________ Period ____

4. Circle the correct type of boundary for each descriptionbelow:

A. Theboundarywheretwoplatesmeetandtrenchesareformed.

Divergent

Convergent

Transform

B. Theplatesmoveawayfromeachotherallowingmagmatocreatenewoceancrust.
Divergent
Convergent
Transform
C. Theplatesmoveinoppositedirectionsbuildinguptensionuntiltheyslipcausing
earthquakes.
Divergent

Convergent

Transform

5. Label each type of boundary as either: Divergent, Convergent, or Transform Boundary:

hh

A.

____________________________________

B.

___________________________________

hh

C.

__________________________________

The end. Please take a minute and look over your web-quest to make sure you answered
all questions and completed all tasks. Make sure your name is on the front and turn it in.