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Science – Grade 10
Learner Activity Sheets
Quarter 1 – Week 7: Causes of Plate Movements

First Edition, 2021

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Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 1
 WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS
Science 10, Quarter 1, Week 7

CAUSES OF PLATE MOVEMENT

Name: Section:
Most Essential Learning Competency
Describe the possible causes of plate movement (MELC S10ES-Ia-j-36.5)

Learning Objectives:

1. Determine the evolution of Pangaea in the Continental Drift Theory.

2. Describe the seafloor spreading process.
3. Realize the importance of the seafloor spreading process relative to continental drift
theory.
4. Explain what causes the tectonic plates to move.
5. Realize the importance of the creation of convection current underneath the Earth.

Time Allotment: 4 Hours

Key Concepts

 Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other.
 Alfred Lothar Wegener (1880-1930), who was a German polar researcher,
geophysicist, and meteorologist.
 He proposed the Continental Drift Theory by hypothesizing in 1912 that the
continents are slowly drifting around the Earth and is once a large landmass called
Pangaea, a Greek word which means "All Earth."
 A large super-continent PANGAEA split into smaller fragments about 200-300 million
years ago. These then drifted apart to form the present arrangement of continents.
 Wegener proposed that the continents “floated” on top of the oceanic crust.
 Wegener’s theory was rejected by scientists because he could not explain what force
pushes or pulls continents.

Figure 1a. Alfred Lothar Wegener Figure1b. Harry Hess

Continental Drift Theory (1912) Seafloor Spreading Theory (1960)
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wegener) (http://www.fmboschetto.it/didattica/
Anno_delia_Terra/deriva/Hess.jpg)

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 2
 The figure shows the evolution of the supercontinent Pangaea to the present-day
distribution of continents. Can you say that continents are drifting?

Figure 2. The Evolution of Pangaea

(https://www.livescience.com/amp/38218-facts-about-pangaea.html)

 In the early 1960s, Princeton University scientist Harry Hess suggested an

explanation on the ocean floor movement. His now-famous theory is known as
seafloor spreading.

Figure 3. Seafloor Spreading

(https://eartheclipse.com/geology/theory-and-
evidence-of-seafloor-spreading.html

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 3
  Sea-Floor Spreading is the process by which molten material adds new
oceanic crust to the ocean floor. Ocean floor moves like a conveyor belt
carrying continents with it.
 New ocean floor forms along cracks in the ocean crust as molten material
erupts from the mantle spreading out and pushing older rocks to the sides of
the crack. New ocean floor is continually added by the process of sea-floor
spreading.
 At the mid-ocean ridge, molten material rises from the mantle and erupts. The
molten material then spreads out, pushing older rock to both sides of the ridge.
 Over tens of millions of years, the process continues until the oldest ocean floor
collides with the continental crust.
 The more dense oceanic crust subducts (sinks) back into the mantle at a deep-
ocean trench.
 The force responsible for driving or moving the plates is convection currents.

Figure 4. Convection Current

(http://waiteearthscience.weebly.com/spreading-boundaries)

 A convection current is a heat transfer process that involves the movement of

energy from one place to another. The convection currents tend to move a fluid,
gas particles, or molten rock. These are due to the differences in the densities
and the temperature of a specific gas or a fluid. Due to this temperature
difference, the hot fluid tends to rise as it expands, whereas cold fluid tends to
sink because it contracts. Convection is one of the kinds of heat transfer; the
other two are radiation and conduction.
 Convection Currents occur within the mantle of the earth when hot magma rises
and cool magma sinks.
 Magma, because it is hotter and less dense, is forced up towards the ocean floor
cooling off when it touches water.
 When the magma hardens, a small amount of new ocean floor is added to the
Earth’s crust. As more magma rises and cools it pushes the new sea floor away
from the ridge. This process is called sea floor spreading.
 Magma sinks, plates dragged towards each other. When the magma sinks, the
plates are dragged towards each other. This is the process of subduction.
The repeated heating and rising of the magma sets up continuous convection
currents in the mantle, causing the plates to move.

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 4
Activity 1. Evolution of Pangaea!
Objective: Determine the evolution of Pangaea in the Continental Drift Theory.
What you need: paper and pen
What to do: The following are the evolution of supercontinent Pangaea. Identify the following
evolution of Pangaea in Column A and match it to the period and years ago in
Column B. Write the letter of the correct answer.

Column A Column B

1. a. Cretaceous (65 million years ago)

2. b. Permian (225 million years ago)

3. c. Jurassic (135 million years ago)

4. d. Triassic (200 million years ago)

5. e. Present Day

Guide Question

1. How can we say that these continents are drifting?

2. How can you able to determine the evolution of supercontinent Pangaea to our
continents today?
(Note: you may refer to the rubric for the rating responses on page 8.)

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 5
Activity 2. Where It All Begins?
Objective: Describe the seafloor spreading process.
What you need: Ages of Oceanic Lithosphere map and diagram of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and
Oceanic Crust, paper and pen.
What to do:
1. Get a clean sheet of paper to write down your answers and observations.

Activity 2a

Figure 5. Ages of Oceanic Lithosphere in million years

(https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Age_of_oceanic_lithospher
e.jpg

Guide Questions
1. What type of plate movement or boundary is occurred in the MidAtlantic Ridge?
2. What molten material will come out from the ridge?
3. How can you say the ages of the oceanic rocks near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
4. How can you say the ages of the oceanic rocks far from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

Activity 2b

Mid-Atlantic Ridge

sediments/oceanic rocks sediments/oceanic rocks

Figure 6. Cross-section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Oceanic

Crust.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Conceptual-diagram-of-a-cross-
section-of-the-atlantic-Ridge-a-The -entire-ridge-fig2_257689165

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 6
 Guide Questions
1. What can you say about the thickness of the sediments near the ridge?
2. What can you say about the density of rocks near the ridge?
3. What can you say about the thickness of the sediments far from the ridge?
4. What can you say about the density of rocks far from the ridge?

Activity 2c

Figure 7. Movement of oceanic crust in the MidAtlantic Ridge and the different
geologic processes involved.
(https://www.eskp.de/en/basic-knowledge/natural-hazards/plate-
tectonics-and-volcanism-935407/)

Guide Questions
1. If new ocean floor is being formed near the ridge, what will happen to the old
oceanic crust materials?
2. What is the importance of Seafloor Spreading in understanding the origin of the
plate movement?
(Note: you may refer to the rubric for the rating responses on page 8.)

Activity 3. Convection Current

Objective: Realize the importance of the creation of convection current underneath the Earth.
What you need: paper and pen, convection current illustration
What to do: The figure below shows a convection cell in Earth’s mantle. Use the figure to
answer the questions that follow.
Lithosphere

Figure 8. Convection Cell in Earth’s mantle

https://sciencestruck.com/what-are-convection-cells
how-do-they-work

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 7
 Guide Questions
1. Where does the heat come from that drives this convection current in the mantle?
2. Where is the temperature of the mantle material greater, at point A or point B?
Explain why.
3. Where is the density of the material greater, at point B or point C? Explain why.
4. What happens to the temperature and density of the material between points B and
C?
5. What happens to the temperature and density of the material between points D and
A?

Scoring Rubric
3 points Explanation is scientifically consistent with the concepts and has no
misconception.
2 points Explanation is scientifically consistent with the concepts but with
minimal misconception.
1 point Explanation is scientifically consistent with the concepts but with
misconception.

Reflection

Figure 9. Palitaw
(https://lolakusinera.com/palitaw-recipe/
#google_vignette)

Palitaw is a kind of sweet, chewy, and flattened rice cake. This Filipino rice cake is
prepared by soaking glutinous rice grains in water overnight and then processed as a
dough. The dough is flattened into small pieces and cooked in boiling water until they float;
this is the reason it was called palitaw. Based on your knowledge about convection current,
make a sketch that can explain why palitaw floats in boiling water. In a separate sheet,
sketch the convection current occurring in making the said rice cake using arrows symbol.

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 8
 The scoring rubric will be used by your teacher in assessing your output.

Satisfactory Needs
Excellent Good
Category (3points) improvement Score
(5points) (4points)
(1point)

Accuracy The sketch The sketch is The sketch is The sketch is

is accurate and is slightly not accurate.
excellently able to explain accurate and
accurate some of the cannot fully
and can information explain the
explain the asked. information
information needed.
asked.

Sketch The sketch The sketch is The sketch is The sketch is

is neat, and legible. The somewhat not legible
necessary concept is clear okay but is not or clear at
markings and legible but exactly neat all.
are found can be neater. and legible.
on the
paper. It
shows a
clear and
legible
concept.

Understanding The learner

of the topic understood The learner
The learner The learner
the lesson has not
has a sufficient has a sufficient
and is able understood
comprehension understanding
to apply it most of the
of the lesson of the lesson
to the lesson and
and can apply but is not
activity. cannot apply
it to the applied in the
it to the
activity. activity.
activity.

TOTAL
(15pts):

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 9
References for Learners:

Websites

A model of seafloor spreading from https://tinyurl.com/yxb5zcat

Alfred Wegener. Retrieved from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alfred_Wegener_ca.1924-30.jpg

Department of Education, Bureau of Secondary Education. Learner's Material, Unit 1.

Department of Education, Bureau of Secondary Education. Teacher's Guide, Unit 1.

Kirchoff. 2018. What Are Convection Currents?. Retrieved

from https://sciencing.com/convectioncurrents-8172073.html

Seafloor spreading. Retrieved from

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/seafloor- spreading/Wegener was his
name by Mr Parr from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME4B9aMLcZ0

Images

Figure 1a. Continental Drift Theory (1912). Retrieved from

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wegener
Figure1b. Seafloor Spreading Theory (1960). Retrieved from
http://www.fmboschetto.it/didattica/Anno_delia_Terra/deriva/Hess.jpg.
Figure 2. The Evolution of Pangaea. Retrieved from
https://www.livescience.com/amp/38218-facts-about-pangaea.html.
Figure 3. Seafloor Spreading. Retrieved from
https://eartheclipse.com/geology/theory-and-evidence-of-seafloor-spreading.html
Figure 4. Convection Current. Retrieved from
http://waiteearthscience.weebly.com/spreading-boundaries
Figure 5. Ages of Oceanic Lithosphere in million years
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Age_of_oceanic_lithosphere.jpg.
Figure 6. Cross-section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Oceanic Crust.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Conceptual-diagram-of-a-cross-section-of-
the-atlantic-Ridge-a-The -entire-ridge-fig2_257689165.
Figure 7. Movement of oceanic crust in the MidAtlantic Ridge and the different
geologic processes involved. Retrieved from https://www.eskp.de/en/basic
knowledge/natural-hazards/plate-tectonics-and-volcanism-935407.
Figure 8. Convection Cell in Earth’s mantle. Retrieved from
https://sciencestruck.com/what-are-convection-cells how-do-they-work.
Figure 9. Palitaw. Retrieved from https://lolakusinera.com/palitaw-recipe/#google_vignette.

Author: John Dave G. Baldonado

School: Nueva Gracia National High School
Division: Agusan del Sur
Email Address: [email protected] 11