CONVERGENT

BOUNDARY
for SCIENCE Grade 10
Quarter 1/Week 5
 FOREWORD

This self-learning kit will serve as a guide for learners to

scientific knowledge and language related to plate
tectonics.

In this learning kit the students will read content-rich

texts and use what they learned to complete a writing task
and create an illustrated text about how plate tectonics
plays a role in specific Earth formations. Most activities
found in this Self Learning Kit engages students in an
information writing task.

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 OBJECTIVE:
K: Define convergent boundary
S: Explain the processes that occur along convergent
boundaries and give examples.
A: Illustrate the consequences of colliding plates.

LEARNING COMPETENCIES:
 Explain the different processes that occur along the plate
boundaries. S10ES-la-j-36.3

I. WHAT HAPPENED
Did you know that we live on gigantic moving rocks? We call these
rocks tectonic plates. They are what make mountain formation
possible.

Think of this: What might be some ways tectonic plates

move? What do you think when tectonic plates move?

Figure 1: Plate Boundaries. Schema diagram of Plate boundaries on earth surface

Source:https://coast.noaa.gov/data/SEAMedia/Lessons/G4U8L3%20A%20Moving%20Crust.pdf

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PRE-ACTIVITIES/PRE-TEST:
Multiple Choice
Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your answer
in your science notebook.

1. Which of the following describes a convergent boundary?

a. Where two plates move toward and collide with one
another.
b. Where two plates interact in any way.
c. When two plates slide along each other.
d. When two plates move apart from each other.

2. When an oceanic and a continental plate meet, a ____________

is formed on the oceanic side, and _____________ are formed on
the continental side.
a. mountain: trenches
b. trench: more trenches
c. volcano: trenches
d. trench: volcanoes and mountains

3. Which of the following is a defining feature of an oceanic plate?

a. being covered by oceans
b. being mostly above sea level
c. being composed mostly of basalt and other mafic rocks
d. being composed mostly of granite and other felsic rocks

4. When two tectonic plate collide, the oceanic crust usually

subducts beneath the continental crust because it is
a. denser than continental crust
b. less dense than continental crust
c. thicker than continental crust
d. thinner than continental crust

5. If you visit a place in the Pacific known to be along converging

plates, which of these should you NOT expect to see?
a. active volcanoes c. rift valleys
b. mountain ranges d. volcanic islands

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 True or False:
Directions: Identify if the statement is True or False. If False, make
the statement correct. Write your answers in your notebook.

1. The asthenosphere is located below the lithosphere.

___________________________________________________________
2. Oceanic crust is denser than continental crust.
___________________________________________________________
3. Mountains can be formed at convergent plate boundaries.
___________________________________________________________

II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

DISCUSSION

Figure 1:
Souce:https://www.amnh.org/content/download/1811/24953/file/hope_high_guide.pd
f

The Earth’s internal structure makes the land and oceans

prone to mountain formation. Earth’s lithosphere consists of layers,
the crust and the upper part of the mantle. This module will focus
on the outermost layer which the called the crust. The crust is made
of a variety of solid rocks like sedimentary, metamorphic, and
igneous. It has an average density of 2.8 g/cm3 and thickness

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ranges from 5 to 50 km. The crust is the thickest in a part where a
relatively young mountain is present and thinnest along the ocean
floor.

The lithosphere, Earth’s rigid top layer of rocks, floats on

asthenosphere, Earth’s hot, malleable layer beneath the
lithosphere. The rigid lithosphere layer is about 100 km (60 miles)
thick and makes up the Earth’s enormous moving rocks called
tectonic plates: 14 major tectonic plates and 38 minor plates are
identified. (The earth’s major tectonic plates are the African,
Antarctic, Arabian, Australian, Carribean, Cocos, Eurasian, Indian,
Juan de Fuca, Nazca, North American, Pacific, Philippine, and
South American plates.)

Tectonic plates are further classified into two major groups

based upon their composition: oceanic crust and continental crust.
Typically, a single tectonic plate can contain both oceanic and
continental crust. Oceanic crust is mainly comprised of basaltic
rocks, whereas continental crust is largely made up of felsic rocks,
which are lower in density. Thus, continental crust is thicker but less
dense and the oceanic crust is relatively thinner but denser than
continental crust.

Figure 2: Subduction of crust beneath continental crust

Source:https://www.ck12.org/earth-science/ocean-continent-convergent-plate-boundaries/lesson/Ocean-
Continent-Convergent-Plate-Boundaries-HS-ES/

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Plates Come Together: CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES
Plate convergence describes tectonic plate movement that
results in the collision of two plates. These slow-moving collisions shift
the plates only a few centimeters a year, but are powerful enough
to form large mountains ranges over time. Where plate collide, or
converge, a variety of landforms are created. Such structures
include mountains, volcanic arcs, and deep-sea trenches.
Convergent plate boundaries produce large and small
earthquakes. They build great, explosive volcanoes as well.

Three types of Convergent Boundaries

1. Convergent boundary between oceanic and continental plates.

When this happens, the colder and denser oceanic
plate sinks below the continental plate into the mantle. The
process is known as subduction. The boundary where it
occurs is called the subduction zone.

Figure 3
Source: http://www.columbia.edu/~vjd1/subd_zone_basic.htm

The subducted plate becomes heated by the mantle, and it

loses water, producing an aqueous rich fluid. The fluid moves

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upward and infiltrates the overlying mantle. This causes the mantle
to partially melt, producing a magma that rises up through the
mantle and crust to feed volcanoes on the surface. This process
usually produces volcanic mountain chains on the overlying
continental plate, such as the Andes.

Source:
Source:
https://media.buzzle.com/media/images-
https://sciencestruck.com/formation-
en/gallery/earth-science/mountains/1200-
of andes-mountain-range
474991763-andes-chile-death-valley.jpg

The Andes Mountain Range of Western South America is an

example of a convergent boundary between an oceanic and
continental plate. Here the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the
South American plate.

Effects of a convergent boundary between an oceanic and

continental plate include: a zone of earthquake activity that is
shallow along the continent margin but deepens beneath the
continent; sometimes an ocean trench immediately off shore of the
continent; a line of volcanic eruptions a few hundred miles inland
form the shoreline; destruction of oceanic lithosphere.

2. Convergent boundary between two oceanic plates.

When two oceanic plate converge, then the older, colder
plate sinks beneath the younger, warmer plate. The subducting
plate is heated as it is forced deeper into the mantle, and a depth
of about 100 miles (150 km)the plate begins to melt.

Underwater earthquakes, especially stronger one can

generate tsunamis, a series of ocean waves with very long
wavelengths caused by large-scale disturbances of the ocean.

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 Magma chambers are produced as result of this melting, and
the magma is lower in density than the surrounding rock material. It
begins ascending by melting and fracturing its way through the
overlying rock material. Magma chambers that reach the surface
break through to form a volcanic eruption cone. In the early stages
of this type of boundary, the cones will be deep beneath the
ocean surface but later grow to be higher than sea level. This
produces and island chain. With continued development the island
grows larger, merge, and an elongate landmass is created.

Deep-sea trenches are created along convergent margins.

That is where the oceanic lithosphere bends into the subduction
zone. Trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean. Some have
depths of 36,000 ft.

If the subduction occurs beneath

oceanic lithosphere, an island arc is
produced at the surface (such as
the Japanese islands, the Aleutian
Islands, the Philippine islands, or the
Carribean islands.

The Aleutian Islands:

The Eastern Carribean Islands: The deepest part

of the ocean, the
Mariana Trench, is
an ocean to
ocean
convergent plate
boundary.

Source of all photos: https://www.quora.com/Which-one-is-subducted-when-two-oceanic-

plates-are-colliding-and-why-does-that-happen

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3. Convergent boundary between two continental plates.
In this case, subduction does not occur, because both
continents have crust with a similar density. Neither is forced down
into the mantle. Instead, a mountain range forms as one continent
overrides the other.
The Himalayan Mountain Range is the best example of this
type of plate boundary.
Effects found at a convergent boundary between continental
plates: intense folding and faulting; a broad folded mountain
range; shallow earthquake activity; shortening and thickening of
plates within the collision zone.

Source: https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html#anchor6715825

Source: https://www.quora.com/Which-type-of-plate-boundary-formed-Himalayas

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Try this!

Study the figure on the right showing

a cross sectional diagram of plates
that are converging, answer the
following questions (copy the
questions and answer in your
notebook.
Figure 1: Cross sectional diagram of
converging continental and oceanic
plates. (LM 10 page 16)

Q1. What type of plate is Plate A? What about Plate B?

Why do you say so?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Q2. Describe what happens to Plate A as it collides with Plate B.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Q3. What do you think may happen to the leading edge of Plate
A as it continues to move downward? Why?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Q4. What is formed on top of Plate B? What other geologic events
could take place?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Refer to Figure 2.
Q5. What are the geologic
Processes/events that will
occur because of this plate
movement?
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________ Figure 2: Cross sectional diagram of converging oceanic
plates. (LM 10 page 18)

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Q6. What geologic features might form at the surface of Plate A?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Q7. Illustrate how two continental plates collide. Explain your

illustration.

Explanation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

III. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

 Convergent plate boundaries are locations where lithospheric
plates are moving towards one another. The plate collisions that
occur in these areas can produce earthquakes, volcanic
activity, and crustal formation (mountain ranges, volcanic
islands, deep trenches).
 Subduction happens when the colder and denser oceanic plate
sinks below the continental plate into the mantle.

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 Three types of convergent boundary: continental-continental,
oceanic-oceanic and oceanic-continental convergent
boundaries.

Convergent Description Land forms and

plate Geologic activities
boundary
Oceanic- Plates collide, the other >Deeper Trenches
oceanic older and colder sinks >Volcanic island arcs
beneath the younger (island chains)
and warmer plate. >Volcanoes
>Subduction
>Crust re-melted into the
Earth’s mantle
>Earthquakes
Oceanic- Plates collide, oceanic >Volcanic arcs (chains)
continental plate moves under >volcanoes
continental plate >Trenches
>Subduction
>Crust re-melted into the
Earth’s mantle
>Earthquakes
Continental- Plates collide, both >Folded mountain ranges
continental plates are pushed up, >Earthquakes
one overrides the other

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EVALUATION/POST TEST
A. Matching Type
Directions: Match column A with column B Write the letter of your
choice in your science notebook.
Column A Column B
_____1. Continental to oceanic a. subduction, volcanoes,
trenches
_____2. Oceanic to oceanic b. subduction, deeper
trenches and volcanoes
_____3. Continental to continental c. mountain ranges like
Himalayas and Appalachian

B. Directions. Identify and illustrate the movements of the

different type of convergent plate boundaries. Use arrows to
indicate directions.

C. Multiple Choice
Directions: Choose the correct letter of your answer and write
in your science notebook.
1. When an oceanic and a continental plate meet, a
____________ is formed on the oceanic side, and _____________
are formed on the continental side.
a. mountain: trenches c. volcano: trenches
b. trench: more trenches d. trench: volcanoes and
mountains

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2. Which of the following is a defining feature of an oceanic
plate?
a. being covered by oceans
b. being mostly above sea level
c. being composed mostly of basalt and other mafic rocks
d. being composed mostly of granite and other felsic rocks

3. When two tectonic plate collide, the oceanic crust

usually subducts beneath the continental crust
because it is
a. denser than continental crust
b. less dense than continental crust
c. thicker than continental crust
d. thinner than continental crust

4. If you visit a place in the Pacific known to be along

converging plates, which of these should you NOT
expect to see?
a. active volcanoes c. rift valleys
b. mountain ranges d. volcanic islands

5. You are an oceanographer and you want to map the ocean

floor on the east coast of the Philippines. As you do your study,
you noticed that there is a portion of the ocean floor which is
relatively deeper than the rest. What most likely is that deeper
part?
a. linear sea c. rift valley
b. oceanic ridge d. trench

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 References

Management, Office for Coastal. n.d. "A Moving Crust." Protecting Coastal
Communities. Accessed July 30, 2020.
https://coast.noaa.gov/data/SEAMedia/Lessons/G4U8L3%20A%20Moving%20
Crust.pdf.

Dana Desonie, Ph.D. 2012. Ocean-Continent Convergent Plate Boundaries. February

25. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.ck12.org/earth-science/ocean-
continent-convergent-plate-boundaries/lesson/Ocean-Continent-
Convergent-Plate-Boundaries-HS-ES/.

Columbia.edu. n.d. Subduction Zones. Accessed July 30, 2020.

http://www.columbia.edu/~vjd1/subd_zone_basic.htm.

Santra, Pratik. 2020. Quora. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.quora.com/Which-

one-is-subducted-when-two-oceanic-plates-are-colliding-and-why-does-that-
happen.

USGS. 2014. Understanding Plate Motions. September 14. Accessed July 30, 2020.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html#anchor6715825.

Academy, Khan. n.d. Khan Academy. Accessed July 30, 2020.

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/amnh/earthquakes-and-
volcanoes/plate-tectonics/a/answers-to-exploration-questions-plate-
tectonics.

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 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF NEGROS ORIENTAL

SENEN PRISCILLO P. PAULIN, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent

FAY C. LUAREZ, TM, Ed.D., Ph.D.

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Acting CID Chief

NILITA L. RAGAY, Ed.D.

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

ROSELA R. ABIERA
Education Program Supervisor – (LRMS)

ARNOLD R. JUNGCO
PSDS – Division Science Coordinator

MARICEL S. RASID
Librarian II (LRMDS)

ELMAR L. CABRERA
PDO II (LRMDS)

ANGELYN P. ABUEVA
Writer/Illustrator

ANGELYN P. ABUEVA
RAFAEL REX B. FELISILDA
Lay-out Artists
________________________________
BETA QA TEAM
ZENAIDA A. ACADEMIA
DORIN FAYE D. CADAYDAY
MERCY G. DAGOY
RANJEL D. ESTIMAR
MARIA SALOME B. GOMEZ
JUSTIN PAUL ARSENIO C. KINAMOT
ARJIE T. PALUMPA

ALPHA QA TEAM
ANGELYN P. ABUEVA
JULIET B. GANTALAO
ARGELYN A. MAHUMOT
LESTER C. PABALINAS

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SYNOPSIS AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This Self Learning Kit gives emphasis on
convergent movement of plates that
results to different landforms and
geologic activities. This will provide the
Grade 10 learners concepts and facts
about the Earth that we are living in.

In addition, this Self Learning Kit will

enhance learner’s critical thinking
and analysis skills through different
writing tasks.

ILLUSTRATOR, LAY-OUT ARTIST

ANGELYN P. ABUEVA, Secondary School

Teacher III of Mabinay Science High
School, Mabinay Negros Oriental. She has
been teaching for almost nine years in
the said institution. A graduate of
Bachelor of Secondary Education major
in Biological Sciences at Negros Oriental
State University.

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