The Ocean Floor And Plate Tectonics Worksheet

Plate tectonics describes the distribution and motion of the plates.

The ocean floor and plate tectonics worksheet. You will recall from a previous chapter that there are three. Samples collected from the ocean floor show that the age of oceanic crust increases with distance from the spreading centre important evidence in favour of this process. These age data also allow the rate of seafloor spreading to be. This creates new ocean crust.

Trench systems occur for both continent ocean and ocean ocean boundaries the worlds deepest parts of the ocean are found along trenches. Plate tectonics plate tectonics seafloor spreading. The theory of plate tectonics grew out of earlier hypotheses and observations collected during exploration of the rocks of the ocean floor. Print ocean drilling as evidence for plate tectonics worksheet 1.

The subducting plate is bent downward to form a very deep depression in the ocean floor called a trench. The growing plates inch away from the ridges widening ocean basins and rafting apart entire continents. Spreading ridges and cools on and beneath the ocean floor adding to the plates on either side. It is an underwater mountain range that forms when magma pushes up on the crust at a divergent boundary.

The mariana trench is 11 km deep. Plate tectonics is the theory that explains how large pieces of the earth s outermost layer called tectonic plates move and change shape. Plate tectonics and the ocean floor. Seafloor spreading is happening at b.

Some of the worksheets below are tectonic plates worksheets predicting tectonic activity definition of plate composition plate movement types of plate boundary continent continent collision hands on activities with colorful diagrams along with questions and answers at the end of each page. What are the layers of the earth. Sea floor spreading answer key. This is a mid ocean ridge.

Bathymetry the shape of the ocean floor is largely a result of a process called plate tectonics the outer rocky layer of the earth includes about a dozen large sections called tectonic plates that are arranged like a spherical jig saw puzzle floating on top of the earth s hot flowing mantle. 2 introduction earth s lithosphere is divided into mobile plates. What was the name of the project started in the 1960s that was designed to extract and analyze samples from the ocean floor. Plate tectonics by combining the sea floor spreading theory with continental drift and information on global seismicity the new theory of plate tectonics became a coherent theory to explain crustal movements.

Convergent boundary where plates come together or converge we see some dramatic manifestations of plate tectonics. Two pieces of evidence for plate tectonics. As upwelling of magma continues the plates continue to diverge a process known as seafloor spreading. Plates are composed of lithosphere about 100 km thick that float on the ductile asthenosphere.