Chapter 1
The moving puzzle of tectonic plates
Chapter 2
Inside the fiery chambers of volcanoes
Chapter 3
When the earth shakes and rolls
Chapter 4
Living with a restless planet
YOUR GOAL
Master of Volcanoes and earthquakes
Ch 1 · The moving puzzle of tectonic plates
artiteacher Tectonic Plates
The Ring of Fire, (Oh-oh!) / Plates are always on the go! (Yeah!) / Volcanoes and quakes, you know!
artiteacher Divergent boundaries are places where plates pull away from each other, allowing molten rock to rise and create new crust.
artiteacher Convergent boundaries occur where plates collide, forcing land upward into massive mountain ranges or down into deep ocean trenches.
BETA
artiteacher Drag tectonic plates to discover how volcanoes and earthquakes form.
Fun Fact
Plate movement: Earth's tectonic plates move at roughly the same speed that human fingernails grow, about 3 to 10 centimeters every year.
Glossary
tectonic plate (noun)
A massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock that makes up the Earth's lithosphere. In 1912, Alfred Wegener laid the groundwork for this concept by proposing that the continents once drifted.
A massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock that makes up the Earth's lithosphere. In 1912, Alfred Wegener laid the groundwork for this concept by proposing that the continents once drifted.
Quiz
What layer of the Earth lies directly beneath the tectonic plates, allowing them to slide?