Plate Tectonics
Overview
This lab uses graham crackers and whipped cream to illustrate divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries.
This lab requires materials from home.
| MATERIALS |
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| PROCEDURE PART I | |
| 1. | Spread enough whipped cream on the plate to make a layer at least a centimeter thick. |
| 2. | Place the two graham crackers side by side on the whipped cream, making sure the edges of the two are touching. |
| 3. | Gently press down on the graham crackers and move them slowly away from each other. Take note of what happens. |
| PROCEDURE PART II | |
| 1. | On a clean plate, spread enough whipped cream on the plate to make a layer at least a centimeter thick. |
| 2. | Take 2 graham crackers, dip 1 edge of each cracker in water, and quickly place them on the plate. |
| 3. | Gently push them together. Take note of what happens. |
| PROCEDURE PART III | |
| 1. | On a clean plate, spread enough whipped cream on the plate to make a layer at least a centimeter thick. |
| 2. | Place 2 graham crackers side by side, with edges touching, on the whipped cream. |
| 3. | Push them together firmly while pulling one towards you and pushing the other away from you. Take note of what happens. |
Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
| 1. | What do the graham crackers and whipped cream represent? Be sure to specify which is the graham cracker and which is the whipped cream! |
| 2. | What type of boundary was represented by Part 1? Explain how you determined this. |
| 3. | What type of boundary was represented by Part 2? Explain how you determined this. |
| 4. | What type of boundary was represented by Part 3? Explain how you determined this. |
| 5. | There are 3 types of convergent boundaries. Did the experiment illustrate what happens at all 3 types of convergent boundaries? Explain. |
| 6. | Why do transform boundaries create earthquakes instead of mountain ranges or trenches? |
| 7. | In Part 2, why did we have to wet the edges of the graham crackers? |
| 8. | Follow this link to see real time data for earthquakes in the last 7 days with a magnitude of at least 4.5. What do the red lines on the map represent? What do you notice about the location of most earthquakes? |
| 9. | Although Utah is not on a plate boundary, we do have earthquakes. Explain why this happens. Hint: if you are not sure, follow this link and scroll. |
No photo of lab set-up required for this lab.