Plate Tectonics Lab 3
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Long Beach City College *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
160L
Subject
Geology
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by CoachMusic12933
Lab
2: Plate tectonics and plate movement rate
______________________________________________________________________
Part 1
How do plates move?
Density differences between plates control whether a plate can sink into the mantle at
subduction zones.
Convection in the mantle moves the plates.
To explore density and how it works.
We will work with an online program called
Gizmos.
Click the link below and scroll over the picture to launch the Gizmo.
https://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?
method=cResource.dspDetail&ResourceID=362
Instructions:
1. Drag the object off the shelf and place it on the scale and record the mass in g.
2. Then drag and drop it in the cylinder and record the volume (difference in water
displaced).
3. Calculate the density (mass divided by volume).
4. Set the density of the fluid in the beaker to 1 g/ml (this is the density of pure water).
Drop the object into the beaker to see if it sinks or floats.
5. If it sinks, move the density bar for the fluid until you can get the object to float.
Object
Mass (g)
Volume (ml)
Density (g/ml)
Float (Y/N)
Pink egg (#2)
Red egg (#11)
Y
After you complete this: summarize the findings. Compare the density of the fluid to the
density of the objects and whether/not they float.
Part 2. Bathymetry and Plate Tectonics
In the power point you can compare the plate boundaries with the bathymetric (or
physiographic) map to see how major features on the seafloor are related to plate
boundaries.
Physiographic map of the eastern Pacific and Atlantic
8. What features are found at divergent boundaries?
9. On the figure above use the insert/shape/line tool to draw the divergent boundary in
the Atlantic.
Make sure the line is red
10. Which bathymetric features are associated with convergent boundaries?
11. On the figure above use the insert/shape/line tool to draw the convergent boundary
in the Atlantic.
Make sure the line is red.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Part 3
Calculating Plate Rates
For this section, you will use data from kmz files for the Dynamic Earth
(dynamic_earth_kmz_file.v2.kmz) and Age of Ocean Floors
(seafloor_age_5my_isochrons.kmz).
12. Looking at the key in the upper left-hand corner, what is the time interval of the
contours (in millions of years)?
13.
Where is the youngest ocean floor on the African plate?
14.
What feature is this?
15. How old is the oldest ocean crust in the African plate in the southeast Atlantic
Ocean?
16.
Along the bottom of the profile (x-axis) are numbers in km, what are those telling
us?
17. Why are
the values on the left side of the profile (y-axis) negative?
18. What do they represent?
The shaded red curve is showing changes in elevation along our path.
19.
What seafloor features can you identify from this profile?
Hint: Why is the elevation higher on the left (western side)?
And why does it slowly increase on the right (eastern side)?
And what are those peaks?
Now you will calculate the speed of plate movement for two different sections
20.
What is the oldest age of the sea floor of the African plate?
21. How long is the path in km?
22.
What is the rate of movement of the African plate (Show all calculations)?
23.
Is it the same as the rate for the African plate in the South Atlantic (example)?
24. What is the oldest age of the sea floor of the Eurasian plate?
25. How long is the path in km?
26. Why did the path not go all the way to the land?
27. What is the rate of movement of the Eurasian plate (Show all work)?