Science 10

Science – Grade 10
Quarter 1 – Module 14: Earth’s Mechanism
First Edition, 2020

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in
any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the
government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for
exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things,
impose as a condition the payment of royalties.

Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand

names, trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective
copyright holders. Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use
these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors
do not represent nor claim ownership over them.

Published by the Department of Education Division of Pasig City

Development Team of the Self-Learning Module

Writer: Rowena O. Roa, PhD
Editor: Rosalina B. Piamonte
Reviewers: Rosalina B. Piamonte
Glenda B. Mira
Illustrator: Edison P. Clet
Layout Artist: Mark Kihm G. Lara
Management Team: Ma. Evalou Concepcion A. Agustin
OIC-Schools Division Superintendent
Aurelio G. Alfonso EdD
OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Victor M. Javeña EdD
Chief, School Governance and Operations Division and
OIC-Chief, Curriculum Implementation Division

Education Program Supervisors

Librada L. Agon EdD (EPP/TLE/TVL/TVE)

Liza A. Alvarez (Science/STEM/SSP)
Bernard R. Balitao (AP/HUMSS)
Joselito E. Calios (English/SPFL/GAS)
Norlyn D. Conde EdD (MAPEH/SPA/SPS/HOPE/A&D/Sports)
Wilma Q. Del Rosario (LRMS/ADM)
Ma. Teresita E. Herrera EdD (Filipino/GAS/Piling Larang)
Perlita M. Ignacio PhD (EsP)
Dulce O. Santos PhD (Kindergarten/MTB-MLE)
Teresita P. Tagulao EdD (Mathematics/ABM)

Printed in the Philippines by Department of Education – Schools Division of

Pasig City
Science 10
Quarter 1
Self-Learning Module 14
Earth’s Mechanism
Introductory Message

For the Facilitator:

Welcome to the Science Grade 10 Self-Learning Module on Earth’s Mechanism!

This Self-Learning Module was collaboratively designed, developed and

reviewed by educators from the Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its
Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A.
Agustin, in partnership with the City Government of Pasig through its mayor,
Honorable Victor Ma. Regis N. Sotto. The writers utilized the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum using the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) in
developing this instructional resource.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help learners
acquire the needed 21st century skills especially the 5 Cs, namely: Communication,
Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
 For the Learner:

Welcome to the Science 10 Self-Learning Module on Earth’s Mechanism!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning material while being an active
learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectations - This points to the set of knowledge and skills

that you will learn after completing the module.

Pretest - This measures your prior knowledge about the lesson

at hand.

Recap - This part of the module provides a review of concepts

and skills that you already know about a previous lesson.

Lesson - This section discusses the topic in the module.

Activities - This is a set of activities that you need to perform.

Wrap-Up - This section summarizes the concepts and

application of the lesson.

Valuing - This part integrates a desirable moral value in the

lesson.

Posttest - This measures how much you have learned from the
entire module.
 EXPECTATIONS

This module is designed and written to help you master the lesson on the
possible causes of plate movement. It has prepared to provide activities for
reinforcement, strengthening and enriching knowledge and skills. The skills in this
module cover all the most essential learning competencies in the list issued by the
Department of Education.
This module uses different and interesting approaches, strategies, and
techniques to further hone scientific understanding of the learners. This module
will focus solely in the Earth’s Mechanism.
At the end of the learning module, you are expected to:
1. describe the cause of plate movement;
2. simulate ridge push and slab pull; and
3. infer the importance of the plate movement.

PRETEST

DIRECTION: Read carefully and understand each sentences then choose the
best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Which theory of plate movement occurs at the mid ocean ridge?
A. Convection
B. Ridge push
C. Slab pull
D. Conduction
2. Which Theory of plate movement occurs as oceanic crust moves away from
the Mid - ocean ridge and becomes cooler and denser, sinking into a trench?
A. Convection
B. Convection
C. Ridge push
D. Slab pull
3. What are the main causes of convection currents in the asthenosphere?
A. Density and weight
B. Pressure and density
C. Density and temperature
D. Temperature and pressure
4. Scientists think that convection currents that move the plates flow in
Earth's ___.
A. Crust
B. Inner core
C. Mantle
D. Outer core
 5. Plates movement is important. Which of the following causes of movement?
A. A hot spot
B. A volcanic eruption
C. A conduction current
D. A convection current

RECAP

In your Grade 8 Science, you have learned about the process that occur along
the plate boundaries. Can you still remember how they differ from each other? Let’s
have some practice exercises to refresh your mind.
Modified True or False: Write T if the statement is true. If it is false, underline the
word that makes it incorrect, then write the correct term in the blank before each
number.
1. Lithospheric plates move because unequal distribution of heat creates motion
and a mechanism within Earth called convergence.
2. The age of the volcano decreases as it moves away from a hot spot.
3. A divergent boundary at two oceanic plates can result in an ocean ridge.
4. The formation of the Hawaiian Islands is associated with a hot spot.
5. Oceanic lithosphere is destroyed at divergent boundaries.

LESSON
You have learned from the previous lesson that heat can be transferred from
one place to another through the process known as convection. This type of heat
transfer usually observed among fluid molecules (gas and liquid). Fluids expand and
become less dense when heated. In effect, the less dense fluid rises away from the
heat source. As it rises, it pulls cool fluid down to replace it. As the “pulled” fluid
becomes heated, it also rises and pulls down more cool fluid, creating a cycle that
stop only when the heat is evenly distributed throughout the fluid.
One driving force behind plate tectonics is mantle convection. This theory was
proposed by Arthur Holmes in 1929. Using Wegener’s observations, Holmes
suggested that as the mantle become heated, its density decreases and eventually
rises up. According to him, the pressure of heated magma broke the continents apart,
forcing the pieces to drift in opposite directions.

Mantle rocks near Earth’s core become extremely hot, making them less dense
than the cooler mantle rocks in the upper layers. In effect, the hot rocks rise and
relatively cooler rocks sink, creating slow vertical currents within the mantle. These
convection current in turn generate convection cells, circling within the mantle-like
conveyor belts. The convection currents push the magma up, forming new crusts
and exerting a lateral force on the plate and pushing it apart to create seafloor
spreading.
 Figure 1. Convection Current

Slab Pull Theory

This theory states that gravity and the plates themselves are the ones
responsible for the plate tectonics through subduction process. We are aware that
subduction zones exist at the outer edges of plates. In these zones, rocks are older,
hence they are cooler and denser compared to those located at the thinner layers.
The old rocks or slabs also subduct or sink into the mantle below it, due to
gravitational forces.
Slab Pull at a subduction boundary, one plate is denser and heavier than the
other plate. The denser, heavier plate begins to subduct beneath the plate that is
less dense.
Slab pull can be compared to the following situation: Suppose your jacket is
resting on a table. You drop a heavy set of keys into a pocket that is dangling over
the edge. The weight of the keys pulls downward on the rest of the jacket, causing it
to slide toward the edge of the table. Currently, many scientists consider slab pull to
be a much stronger factor than ridge push or mantle convection in driving plate
movements.

Figure 1. Models for plate motion mechanisms

The edge of the subducting plate is much colder and heavier than the mantle, so it
continues to sink, pulling the rest of the plate along with it. The force that the sinking
edge of the plate exerts on the rest of the plate is called slab pull
Slab pull is the force exerted by a dense oceanic plate sinking into the mantle
at a convergent plate boundary. Slab pull is a key force acting on plate motion
because it has been proven to greatly affect the velocity of a plate, not to mention
create dramatic volcanoes.
Ridge Push is the molten magma that rises at a mid-ocean ridge is very hot
and heats the rocks around it. As the asthenosphere and lithosphere at the ridge are
heated, they expand and become elevated above the surrounding sea floor. This
elevation produces a slope down and away from the ridge. Because the rock that
forms from the magma is very hot at first, it is less dense and more buoyant than the
rocks farther away from the mid-ocean ridge.
However, as the newly formed rock ages and cools, it becomes denser. Gravity
then causes this older, denser lithosphere to slide away from the ridge, down the
sloping asthenosphere. As the older, denser lithosphere slides away, new molten
magma wells up at the mid-ocean ridge, eventually becoming new lithosphere.
Scientists have used computer models to show that the cooling, subsiding rock exerts
a force on spreading lithospheric plates that could help drive their movements. This
force is called ridge push, though the phrase “ridge push” is somewhat misleading.
It might be more accurate to refer to ridge push as gravitational sliding.

Figure 2. Diagram of a mid-ocean ridge showing ridge push near the mid-ocean ridge and the lack of
ridge push after 90 Ma

Mid-ocean ridges are long underwater mountain chains that occur

at divergent plate boundaries in the ocean, where new oceanic crust is formed by
upwelling mantle material as a result of tectonic plate spreading and relatively
shallow (above ~60 km) decompression melting.
The upwelling mantle and fresh crust are hotter and less dense than the
surrounding crust and mantle, but cool and contract with age until reaching
equilibrium with older crust at around 90 Ma. This produces an isostatic response
that causes the young regions nearest the plate boundary to rise above older regions
and gradually sink with age, producing the mid-ocean ridge morphology.
The greater heat at the ridge also weakens rock closer to the surface, raising
the boundary between the brittle lithosphere and the weaker, ductile asthenosphere
to create a similar elevated and sloped feature underneath the ridge.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, known as ridge push, in the Atlantic Ocean.
This push is caused by gravitational force, and it exists because the ridge occurs at
a higher elevation than the rest of the ocean floor. As rocks near the ridge cool, they
become denser, and gravity pulls them away.
It is widely believed that ridge-push and slab-pull are the main mechanisms
for plate motion, as opposed to traction by mantle convection. Mantle convection is
a key factor for producing the conditions necessary for ridge-push and slab-pull.
 ACTIVITIES

Module No. 14: Activity No. 1: Ridge Push and Slab Pull

Learning Competency:
Describe the possible causes of plate movement. S10ES-Ia-j-36.5
Learning Objective:
• Describe ridge push and slab pull,
Materials: activity sheet, pen

Procedure:

Using a Venn diagram below, compare the ridge push and slab pull theory.

Guide Questions:
1. What is slab pull and ridge push?
2. How does ridge push affect slab pull?
3. What causes ridge push and slab pull?
4. How do slab pull and ridge push work together?
5. Why is slab pull important in the movement of plates?

Closure:
Based on the activity, which among the ridge-push/slab-pull model was
adopted by most geologists working on plate-tectonic? Explain your answer.

Module No 14: Activity No. 2: What drives the plates?

Learning Competency:
Describe the possible causes of plate movement. S10ES-Ia-j-36.5
Learning Objective:
• Simulate ridge push and slab pull cause plate movement.
Materials: activity sheet, ball pen, family member
Procedure:
1. Using the diagram below, demonstrate slab pull and ridge push as driving force
in plate tectonic movement.

2. Ask the member of the family to simulate the process of ridge push and slab
pull using the diagram above.
3. Each member will represent as the mid-oceanic ridge, subduction zone and
plate movement as shown in the picture below.

4. Observe what will happen when you push between plate movements.
What about pulling the last member of the group near the subduction zone.

Guide Questions:
1. In your observation, describe ridge push and slab pull?
2. What is the difference of ridge push and slab pull?
3. When you push the two plate margins, what is the impact to the plate tectonic?
How about when you pull near the subduction zone? Explain your answer.
4. Showing that this is the force which has the greatest effect? Why?
5. Why slab pull is important?
Closure:
Based on the activity, why do researchers think that slab pull is a major driving
force of plate motion? Explain your answer.

WRAP-UP

To summarize what have you learned, answer the following. Fill in the blanks
to complete the sentence. Choose from the words in the box.

Slab pull Ridge push Mantle

Convection Current Plate Tectonic Subduction

The forces that have been proposed as the main drivers of plate movement are
(1)__________ in mantle , carrying plates of lithosphere.(2)_________ newly-formed
plates at oceanic ridges are warm, and so have a higher elevation at the oceanic ridge
than the colder, more dense plate material further away; gravity causes the higher
plate at the ridge to push away the lithosphere that lies further from the ridge;(3)
_______older, colder plates sink at (4)____________ zones because as they cool, they
become more dense than underlying (5)________ so the sinking plate pulls the rest of
the plate along behind it.

VALUING

Module No 14: Activity No. 3: LET’S TAKE A PICTURE

Learning Competency:
Describe the possible causes of plate movement. S10ES-Ia-j-36.5
Learning Objective:
• Identify slab pull as the main driving force of plate movement.
• Recognize the importance of the plate movement processes in the formation of
our landforms.
Materials: activity sheet, ball pen, ruler
Procedure:
1. Identify three plates on a plate map: the Pacific plate, the Nazca plate and the
South American plate.
2. Each of these plates, measure approximately the total length of the plate margin
(All parts of the margin, including the ridges/rifts, transform faults, and
subduction zones); see the map below.
Guide Questions:
1. Looking at the diagram, which is subduction zone?
2. Which among these plates moves the fastest?
3. Which among these plates has slow velocity?
4. In which plate is our country located?
5. Which among the plates is considered as a young and warm plate?
Closure:
Based on the activity, looking at the different processes of plate movement,
how does it affects the formation of our landforms?

POSTTEST

DIRECTION: Read carefully and understand each sentences then choose the best
answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Based on the diagram, the force of gravity pulls a lithospheric plate downward
and away from a ridge pushing it toward a trench. Which of the following
movement describes best?
 A. Ridge push
B. Subduction
C. Slab pull
D. Sea Floor Spreading

2. When the force of subduction and gravity moves a lithospheric plate downward
into a trench and pulls it away from a ridge it is called __________.
A. Ridge push
B. Subduction
C. Slab pull
D. Sea Floor Spreading

3. Which of the following is a result of gravity in relation to moving tectonic plates?

A. Earth's internal heating
B. Ridge push and slab pull
C. Earth's magnetic field reverses
D. Circulating material in the mantle

4. Which of the following are the possible driving forces of plate tectonics?
A. convection, slab pull, ridge push
B. conduction, convection, slab pull
C. conduction, radiation, ridge push
D. conduction, convection, ridge push

5. What is the importance of earth’s mechanism?

A. Driven by heat loss and gravity due to radiation.
B. Driven by heat loss and gravity due to transform.
C. Driven by heat loss and gravity due to conduction.
D. Driven by heat loss and gravity due to convection.
 KEY TO CORRECTION

References
https://www.earthlearningidea.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge_push

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35204554

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mittelozeanischer_Ruecken_-
_Schema.png

https://www.civilsdaily.com/mains/explain-the-mechanism-of-sea-floor-
spreading-and-briefly-mention-the-characteristic-features-of-the-mid-atlantic-
ridge-15-marks/

https://opentextbc.ca/geology/chapter/10-5-mechanisms-for-plate-motion/

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Ridge_Push_%28Mid-
ocean_Ridge%29.png

https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-
games/making-connections/
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ELINETTE B. DELA CRUZ

Project Development Officer II
(LRMS)
Mark Kihm G. Lara
Lay-out Artist

Rowena O. Roa, PhD

Video/Power Point Presenter

Rosalina B. Piamonte
Video/Power Point Editor

Rosalina B. Piamonte
Video/Power Point Reviewer

Richard T. Santos
Sta. Lucia High School
Principal II

Dr. Sofia J. Papio

Public Schools District Supervisor

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Pasig City

Caruncho Avenue, San Nicholas, Pasig City

Contact No.: (632) 8641-8885

Email Address: divisionofpasig@gmail.com