Discovering Plate Tectonics

In this app, students discover the theory of plate tectonics, which states that Earth’s outer shell consists of a patchwork of lithospheric plates. The motion of these plates cause the movement of the continents and ocean basins. Earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountains are produced because of these dynamic forces.
Exploration of the ocean floor provided early clues that led to the discovery of seafloor spreading from oceanic ridges that occur in the middle of Earth's major oceans. The age of the ocean floor was discovered to be younger near these ridges and older farther from the center. See how oceanic lithosphere, including the crust, sinks below the lighter continental crust at active continental margins causing volcanoes and earthquakes. You will learn the features of the ocean floor including deep-ocean trenches, volcanic islands, seamounts, and the oceanic ridge system.
Learn about the major plates, compare their locations on a flat map to their positions on a globe, and manipulate a globe to see how their positions have changed over the last 200 million years. The three types of tectonic plate boundaries are introduced: divergent, convergent and transform plate boundaries.
Throughout the app, students are encouraged to answer essay questions that involve critical thinking skills. The student’s answers are saved (in a notebook) and these entries may be shared. Quiz questions are used to assess student understanding; quiz answers and scores may also be shared.
NGSS:
ESS1.C The History of Planet Earth
ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems
ESS2.B Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions