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DIVERGENT BOUNDARY (Divergence of Plates) Divergent Boundaries Occur When Two Plates

The document provides information about divergent plate boundaries and hotspots. It discusses how divergent boundaries form new oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges, creating seafloor spreading and widening oceans over time. It also explains how hotspots are areas of upwelling magma that can form volcanic island chains as tectonic plates move over them, such as the Hawaiian Islands. The document includes diagrams and activities about identifying features of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics, as well as a quiz assessing understanding.

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daisy soriano
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190 views

DIVERGENT BOUNDARY (Divergence of Plates) Divergent Boundaries Occur When Two Plates

The document provides information about divergent plate boundaries and hotspots. It discusses how divergent boundaries form new oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges, creating seafloor spreading and widening oceans over time. It also explains how hotspots are areas of upwelling magma that can form volcanic island chains as tectonic plates move over them, such as the Hawaiian Islands. The document includes diagrams and activities about identifying features of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics, as well as a quiz assessing understanding.

Uploaded by

daisy soriano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SCIENCE 10

QUARTER 1, Week 4

DIVERGENT BOUNDARY (Divergence of Plates)


Divergent boundaries occur when two plates
move away from each other. Interestingly,
almost all these boundaries are under the sea.
One of the few places where there is a divergent
boundary between two parts of a continent is in
Africa. This boundary has created the Great Rift
Valley, which runs north/south through the
northeastern portion of Africa. Over time, as the
rift valley becomes wider, the Red Sea will flow
into this region and eventually divide Africa into
two land masses, which will lie on two separate
tectonic plates. Where divergent boundaries
occur, magma flows up from the cracks that are
created in the Earth’s crust.
On oceanic plates, this forms new seafloor and
widens the ocean basin. These undersea types of divergent boundaries, called mid-ocean ridges, may form
underwater mountain ranges, like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and deep-sea hydrothermal vents, such as
those found off the Nazca plate near the Galapagos Islands. One of the fastest spreading boundaries is
between the Pacific and Antarctic plates, widening both oceans as well as the ocean between Antarctica and
the other continents.
In some locations, an upwelling plume (or stationary region of upward flow) of magma rises from the
center of the Earth and can erupt as a volcano on the surface. These areas are called hot spots. Most hot
spots are found in the interior of tectonic plates, like the hot spot that created the Hawaiian Islands or the
volcanic features of Yellowstone National Park, and not along plate boundaries. However, the country of
Iceland is an exception where both the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and hot-spot volcanism create a dramatic
landscape of volcanic features and deep trenches.
ACTIVITY 9
DIVERGENCE OF PLATES

Directions: Read the definitions and label the diagram of the seafloor.

lower mantle (semi-rigid) – the deepest parts of the mantle, just above the core
magma – molten rock within the Earth’s mantle.In the seafloor spreading, magma moves up to
the crust
ocean – large bodies of water sitting atop the ocean’s crust
oceanic crust – thin parts of the Earth’s crust located under the oceans
oceanic ridge – mountain range where Earth’s tectonic plates are gradually moving apart
upper mantle (rigid) – the uppermost part of the mantle, part of the lithosphere
SCIENCE 10
QUARTER 1, Week 4

TRANSFORM FAULT BOUNDARY


A transform plate boundary is where two plates are
sliding horizontally past one another. This type of
boundary is more commonly known as a transform fault.
While most transform faults are found on the ocean floor
on the same tectonic plate, a few, such as the San Andreas
Fault in California, occur on land between two different
tectonic plates.
When a transform fault is between two plates, the plates
frequently stick against each other for awhile as they try to
move past. When this sticking pressure builds up to a
very high level, the plates will suddenly break free and
slide past one another. This motion causes earthquakes,
which can sometimes be very large if the pressure build
up is very high. There are no volcanoes associated with
transform plate boundaries because, in this case, the
movement of plates was not associated with an
upwelling mantle plume (hot spot volcanism) or a
subducting and melting tectonic plate (subduction zone
volcanism). Figure 1 San Andreas Fault

What is a Hot Spot?


Mantle plumes are areas of hot, upwelling
mantle. A hot spot develops above the
plume. Magma generated by the hot spot rises
through the rigid plates of the lithosphere and
produces active volcanoes at the Earth's surface.
As oceanic volcanoes move away from the hot
spot, they cool and subside, producing older
islands, atolls, and seamounts. As continental
volcanoes move away from the hot spot, they
cool, subside, and become extinct.
Hot spots are places within the mantle where
rocks melt to generate magma. The presence of a
hot spot is inferred by anomalous volcanism (i.e.
not at a plate boundary), such as the Hawaiian
volcanoes within the Pacific Plate. The Hawaiian
hot spot has been active at least 70 million years,
Figure 2 Hawaiin Hotspot
producing a volcanic chain that extends 3,750
miles (6,000 km) across the northwest Pacific
Ocean. Hot spots also develop beneath continents. The Yellowstone hot spot has been active at least 15
million years, producing a chain of calderas and volcanic features along the Snake River Plain that extends
400 miles (650 km) westward from northwest Wyoming to the Idaho-Oregon border .
ACTIVITY 10
Direction: Answer the following questions.

1. What is a hotspot?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What does a thermal plume allow for?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What happens during convection?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What carries the volcanoes away from a hotspot?
SCIENCE 10
QUARTER 1, Week 4

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Why does the volcano subside when it moves off the hotspot?

ACTIVITY 11
Disaster Preparedness

At this point, we are quite aware that our country is susceptible to different disasters such as earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Therefore, it is a must for us to prepare and ensure our safety and survival
when these disasters strike. For this activity, your goal is to help your family prepare for an impending
emergency. Your task is to prepare an emergency kit for the whole family. Decide what items should be in
your emergency kit and be ready to present it in class.
List of Emergency Kit Function/ Use

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

QUIZ NO. 4
Direction: Encircle the letter of the best answer.

1. The diagram shows a chain of hotspot volcanoes in an ocean. The arrow shows the direction of
motion of the tectonic plate. What can a geologist assume about the ages of the volcanic rocks that
form the islands?

a. All of the rocks are about the same age.


b. The rocks increase in age from
Volcano A to Volcano D.
c. The rocks decrease in age from
Volcano A to Volcano D.
d. There is a random distribution of
rocks of various ages on the islands.

2. The orientation of a hotspot track can be used


to infer:

a. The direction of motion of a tectonic plate

b. Where strong earthquakes are likely to occur


SCIENCE 10
QUARTER 1, Week 4

c. Where a new plate boundary is likely to form in the near future

d. The approximate depth inside the Earth where the hotspot magma originates

3. On Earth, hotspot volcanoes tend not to grow very large because:

a. The lava they produce is very dense

b. Hotspots do not produce much magma

c. The hotspot moves steadily beneath the lithosphere

d. The lithosphere moves while the hotspot stays in one place

4. A student needs to locate a transform boundary on a map. Where is the student most likely to find
one?

a. Perpendicular to a hotspot track

b. In the middle of a plate, along the edge of a continent

c. In the middle of a plate, directly between a ridge and a trench

d. Along a plate boundary, between a segment that is divergent and a segment that is
convergent

5. If rifting continues in a continental rift valley, which is most likely to form next?

a. A hotspot track c. A new ocean basin


b. A subduction zone d. A high, wide mountain belt
6. Earth’s tectonic plates are made of:
a. The uppermost crust only c. The entire crust only
b. The crust and uppermost mantle d. The crust and entire mantle
7. Which best summarizes the process of subduction?
a. Old, thick continental lithosphere slowly sinks under its own weight.
b. Old, dense oceanic lithosphere dives beneath younger or lighter lithosphere.
c. Extensive volcanism empties a magma chamber and causes the crust to collapse in on
itself.
d. Two tectonic plates move suddenly past each other when the rocks break and friction
between them is overcome.

8. Which best describes an ocean trench?

a. A wide, flat basin with steep sides

b. A straight, narrow valley along the center of a mid-ocean ridge

c. A deep fracture perpendicular to and intersecting a mid-ocean ridge

d. A deep, curved depression near the margin of a continent or chain of volcanic islands

9. Which best summarizes the hypothesis of seafloor spreading?

a. Lava erupts from hotspots and spreads over the ocean floor.

b. The seafloor gradually spreads in size as a result of erosion of the continental shelves.

c. Sediments from continents are carried to the ocean in rivers and spread out on the ocean
floor.
SCIENCE 10
QUARTER 1, Week 4

d. Lava erupts from the mid-ocean ridge and is carried away as the floor of the ocean spreads
apart.

10. Most new ocean crust forms:

a. At hotspots

b. At mid-ocean ridges

c. Along deep sea trenches

d. At the edges of continents

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