Lab 1: Plate Tectonics
Lab Structure
| Recommended additional work | None |
| Required materials | Pencil, pencil crayons, ruler, calculator, printed Plate Boundaries Map |
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lab, you should be able to:
- Describe the motion of plates at divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries.
- Characterize divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries by their associated geological features and processes.
- Describe how mantle plumes and resulting hot spot volcanoes can be used to determine the direction of plate motion.
Key Terms
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Plate tectonics is the model or theory that we use to understand how our planet works. More specifically, it is a model that explains the origins of continents and oceans, folded rocks and mountain ranges, igneous and metamorphic rocks, earthquakes, volcanoes, and continental drift. Plate tectonics was first proposed just over 100 years ago, but did not become an accepted part of geology until about 50 years ago. During this lab, we will spend time discussing the historical context related to the development of the theory, as well as how the theory is applied by scientists around the world today.
