Tectonics

KS3 Geography
Tectonics
Lesson Objective
To understand what happens at plate boundaries.
Success Criteria
• To understand why the tectonic plates are moving.
• To be able to explain the differences between
plate boundaries.
Starter Challenge
What similarities are there between the earth and a
hard-boiled egg?
?
Starter Challenge
So, how is the earth like a
hard-boiled egg?
• It has a hard crust around the

edge;
• The yellow yolk in the centre
is like the earth’s core;
• The egg white is like
the mantle.
Earth’s Structure
Like the shell of this egg, the crust
around the earth’s surface is not
smooth. It is broken into lots of
different sections.
We call the sections plates.
There are big plates and small
plates. Each one is moving in a
different direction – very slowly,
about the speed your fingernails
are growing.
But how is this possible?
Why Do the Plates Move?
It’s all down to
convection currents.
If you’re heating a pan of water to

cook your dinner, the source of
heat underneath the pan warms up
the water.
As the temperature of the water
gets higher, the warm water rises
to the top of the pan. When it cools
a little, it sinks down and is
replaced by warmer water.
A circular loop begins, fuelled by
the heat at the bottom.
A Similar Thing Happens Inside the Earth!
The core of the earth is
extremely hot and heats up the
mantle.
The lower mantle, nearer to the

earth’s core, is hotter than the
upper mantle. This creates
convection currents, with magma
rising towards the surface.
Cooler magma eventually sinks

back down, and the circular
process slowly moves the plates.
What Was Pangaea?
Millions of years ago, a map of the earth would have looked very different.
Very slowly, the land masses of our planet have moved. Take a look at how
the continents drift.
Plate Boundaries
The place where two different
tectonic plates meet is called
the plate boundary.
Different processes take place at

the boundaries – and some are
extremely dangerous.
Let’s take a look at what happens
at plate boundaries…
Photo courtesy of Martin Luff (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
Divergent Plate Boundaries
The two plates are moving apart.
This often occurs in the middle of the ocean.
Molten rock (magma) rises up in the gap created, creating
shield volcanoes.
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Large eruptions see the lava reach above the ocean, where it
cools and forms an island. Iceland is a good example of this.
When this plate boundary occurs on land, it forms a rift valley as
the plates pull apart.
Small earthquakes also take place here.
In Your Books…
Your text here
Make a sketch to show what
happens at a divergent boundary.
Add labels to your sketch and write
two sentences below to explain
what happens.
Rift Valley
Hell’s Gate, Kenya (part of a rift valley)
Photo courtesy of Ninara (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
Convergent Plate Boundaries
The two plates are moving towards each other.
Oceanic crust collides with continental crust.
The oceanic crust is denser and is subducted into the mantle and melts.
The melted material mixes with volatile gases, which force it to the surface
and create some of the most explosive volcanoes.
Convergent Plate Boundaries
An example is where the Juan de Fuca plate meets the North
American plate – resulting in Mt St Helen’s volcano.
The Eurasian plate and African plate are also colliding, resulting in
Italian volcanic activity.
Earthquake!
As well as dealing with powerful
volcanoes at convergent plate
boundaries, people there also
live with the threat of
deadly earthquakes.
But how do earthquakes

actually happen?
Complete the Earthquake Timeline
card sorting activity.
Photo courtesy of European Commision DG ECHO (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
Timeline Answers
Heat from the earth’s core makes
the temperature of the mantle rise.
Convection currents lead to the
slow movement of the
tectonic plates.
When two plates move towards
each other, they can get
jammed together.
Pressure builds up as the plates
are forced together - but they are
still locked tight.
Eventually, the plates give way and
jolt past each other.
The built-up energy is released as
seismic waves and an
earthquake occurs.
In Your Books…
Make a sketch to show what happens at a convergent boundary.
Add labels to your sketch and write two sentences below to explain
what happens.
Conservative boundaries
At conservative boundaries, the
plates slide past each other.
There are no volcanoes here, but

the earthquakes can be really
destructive. As at convergent
boundaries, the plates get stuck as
they slide past each other, and
pressure builds up. When the
plates snap past each other,
the energy is released and
an earthquake occurs.
In Your Books…
Make a sketch to show what happens
at a conservative boundary. Add labels
to your sketch and write two sentences
below to explain what happens.
Tectonic Boundary Card Sort
Can you sort the 12 cards about
plate boundaries into three groups –
one for convergent, one for
divergent and one
for conservative?
Collision Boundaries
If the two plates get caught on each
At a collision boundary, two
other, pressure can build up. When the
continental plates move plates snap past each other, it causes a
towards each other. powerful earthquake.
They move extremely slowly. Over

millions of years, they force the
crust upwards.
This is how mountain
ranges such as the
Himalayas form.
The Himalayan Mountains
What is the name of the plate boundary?
It creates mountain ranges collision
The plates slide past each other conservative
Islands are created here divergent
It causes destructive volcanoes

convergent
and earthquakes
Fill in the Blanks…
Movement of tectonic plates is caused by CONVECTION

convection
CURRENTS
currents fuelled by HEAT
heat from the earth’s core.
Tectonic plates move extremelyslowly

SLOWLY. The place
where they meet is called a plateboundary
BOUNDARY.
Moving plates can get stuck, leading to a build up of

PRESSURE.
pressure When the plates snap past each other, it
causes an EARTHQUAKE.
earthquake

Tectonics

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KS3 Geography

• It has a hard crust around the

If you’re heating a pan of water to

The lower mantle, nearer to the

Cooler magma eventually sinks

Different processes take place at

But how do earthquakes

There are no volcanoes here, but

They move extremely slowly. Over

It creates mountain ranges collision

The plates slide past each other conservative

Islands are created here divergent

It causes destructive volcanoes

Movement of tectonic plates is caused by CONVECTION

Tectonic plates move extremelyslowly

Moving plates can get stuck, leading to a build up of

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