1.0 The Circum-Pacific Belt Task Stage-combined
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Colorado State University, Global Campus *
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7
Subject
Geology
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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11
Uploaded by CoachTank6188
The Circum-Pacific Belt © Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
TASK The Phenomenon The Circum-Pacific Belt is an area that is located along the edge of the Pacific Ocean. This belt, which is also called the Ring of Fire, is well known for its geological activity. Take a few minutes to watch a video about the Circum-Pacific Belt. As you watch the video, write down some things you notice and wonder about. The Task The video you watched described the many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that occur within the Circum-Pacific Belt. The video also mentioned that all this geological activity is caused by the movement of giant tectonic plates and the interactions that take place between these plates. Your goal in this investigation is to figure out if the way plates interact with each other at a specific location is related to the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes at that location. The guiding question of this investigation is: How is the nature of the geological activity that is observed near a plate boundary related to the type of plate interaction that occurs at that boundary?
Things I noticed
… Things I wonder
about…
The Circum-Pacific Belt © Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
TASK Initial Ideas Before you start this investigation, take a few minutes to think about volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, such as the ones that often occur within the Circum-Pacific Belt. Then draw a model in the space below that shows why you think volcanic eruptions and earthquakes happen. Be sure to include labels to help explain your thinking. Now list some things you think will be important to learn more about during this investigation in the space below. Some ideas that I have… Some things that I want to know more about…
The Circum-Pacific Belt
© Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
IDEAS Some Ideas You Can Use: Earth’s Composition The center of the Earth is 6,378 km (3,963 mi) below the surface. The interior structure of the Earth is composed of several layers. The deepest layer is called the inner core
. The inner core is a solid sphere that consists of mostly solid iron. It has a radius of about 1,300 km (808 mi). The next layer is the outer core
, which is liquid iron and nickel and extends beyond the inner core another 2,200 km (1,367 mi). The next, and thickest, layer is the mantle
. The mantle is made up iron, magnesium, and silicon. A region of the mantle found between about 100 and 200 km (62 to 124 mi) deep is called the asthenosphere
. This region of the mantle is made up of semiliquid magma and partly melted rock that is weak, hot, and slippery. The mantle’s uppermost region is rigid. The outermost layer of the Earth is the lithosphere
, which includes the crust and the uppermost mantle. The picture below is a diagram that shows these layers of the Earth. Some things I know
from what I read…
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The Circum-Pacific Belt
© Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
IDEAS Some Ideas You Can Use: Plate Tectonics The lithosphere is broken into several huge tectonic plates
that are on average about 125 km (78 mi) thick. These tectonic plates slide across the asthenosphere in different directions relative to each other and at different speeds. The plates, as a result, gradually change position on the surface of the Earth over time. The map below shows the named tectonic plates and the direction each one moves. The arrows represent the direction they are moving and how fast they move (with longer arrows indicating greater speed). The fastest-moving plates move at speed of about 15 cm per year. Plate boundaries are found where one plate interacts with another plate. These boundaries are classified into three different categories (see picture below). The first category is called a divergent boundary
(marked with a green line in the map above). A divergent boundary occurs when two plates move away from each other. The second category is called a transform boundary
(marked with a black line in the map above). Transform boundaries, in contrast, form when two plates slide past each other. The third category is called a convergent boundary
(marked with a red line in the map above). Convergent boundaries occur when two plates collide with each other.
The Circum-Pacific Belt
© Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
IDEAS Some Ideas You Can Use: The Circum-Pacific Belt, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes The Circum-Pacific Belt, which is also called the Ring of Fire, is a path along the edge of the Pacific Ocean that is characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. It is approximately 40,000 km (24,900 mi) long. The map below shows the location of the major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0 or greater) that occurred between 1900 and 2013 within or near the Circum-Pacific Belt. The larger the circle, the larger the earthquake. The colors represent the depth of the earthquake, with red indicating a depth of 0
–
69 km, green indicating a depth of 70
–
299 km, and blue indicating a depth of greater than 300 km. The map also shows the locations of most of the volcanoes found on Earth. These volcanoes are marked with yellow triangles. Some things I know
from what I read…
The Circum-Pacific Belt
© Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
IDEAS The map also shows the location of several plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are marked with a yellow line in the map. Notice that the Circum-Pacific Belt follows the boundaries of several different plates. Some of the plate boundaries found within the Circum-Pacific Belt are convergent boundaries and some are transform boundaries. An example of a convergent boundary is the plate boundary that is located off the west coast of the continent of South America. The plate boundary that is located on the west coast of California, in contrast, is an example of a transform boundary. Some Ideas You Can Use: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity It is important to think about size and time scales when investigating a phenomenon because every phenomenon, such as earthquakes within the Circum-Pacific Belt, can be observed at various scales
. For example, a 1 km or a 1,000 km section of a plate boundary can be the focus of study over different periods of time, such as 1 day or 100 years. The number of earthquakes observed in a 1 km section of boundary over 1 day might be very different than what is observed in a 1,000 km section of a plate boundary over a 100-year time period. It is therefore important to choose a useful scale when deciding what data to collect during an investigation. It is also important to use proportional relationships
between different quantities when analyzing data. Proportional relationships among different types of quantities provide information about the size of properties and processes. An example of a proportional relationship is geological activity as the ratio of number of earthquakes between 1921 and 2021 to 100 km of a plate boundary. This ratio would be recorded as number/100 km
. Some things I know
from what I read… Some things I know
from what I read…
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The Circum-Pacific Belt © Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
PLAN Plan Your Investigation Prepare a plan for your investigation by filling out the
chart below. I approve of this investigation plan Teacher’s Signature Date I am trying to answer the following question
… I will use the following observations or measurements
… I will analyze these observations or measurements by…
The Circum-Pacific Belt © Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
DO Collect Data Keep a record of what you observe or measure during your investigation.
My
observations or measurements…
The Circum-Pacific Belt © Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
DO Analyze Your Data Use the space below to create any tables or graphs that will help you make sense of the data you collected so you can answer the guiding question.
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The Circum-Pacific Belt
© Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
SHARE Draft Argument Develop an argument on a whiteboard. It should include: 1.
A claim
that answers the guiding question, 2.
Evidence
in support of the claim that provides an analysis of the data and a description of what the analysis means, 3.
A justification of the evidence that explains why your group thinks the evidence is important. Argumentation Session Share your argument with your classmates. Be sure to keep track of any ideas that you can use to revise your argument and make it better in the space below. Some possible ways to improve
our argument…
The Circum-Pacific Belt © Argument-Driven Inquiry For classroom use only. Do not distribute without permission.
REFLECT Reflective Discussion You can keep track of any ideas from the discussion that you think are important or will be useful in the future in the space below. Some important ideas
…