Grade 8 · Plate Tectonics and Earth's Resources · Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics and Earth's Resources
Use rock, fossil and seafloor evidence to explain plate motion, and connect plate history to where resources such as oil, gas and groundwater are found.
Learning objectives
- Describe evidence for plate motion from fossils, rocks and the seafloor.
- Explain how convection in the mantle drives plate movement.
- Relate plate boundaries to earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building.
- Explain how geological processes concentrate Earth's resources unevenly.
NGSS alignment
MS-ESS2-3
Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of past plate motions.
MS-ESS3-4
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.
MS-ESS1-1
Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
MS-ESS2-6
Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
MS-ESS1-4
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history.
MYP criteria
- Criterion A — Knowing and Understanding
- Criterion C — Processing and Evaluating
- Criterion D — Reflecting on the Impacts of Science
ENGAGE
Start here
It did not. The land moved.
Think about it
Identical 250-million-year-old fossil reptiles are found in Africa, India and South America. How did the same animal cross oceans?
Hint: Try fitting the continents together like puzzle pieces.
EXPLAIN
Evidence and mechanism
Earth's outer shell is broken into plates that move a few centimetres a year. Evidence comes from matching coastlines and rock sequences, shared fossils, magnetic stripes on the seafloor, and rock age increasing away from mid-ocean ridges.
What drives the plates
Heat from Earth's interior sets up slow convection in the mantle. Combined with the pull of dense sinking slabs at subduction zones, this drags plates across the surface.
| Boundary | Motion | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Divergent | Plates separate | New seafloor, rift valleys |
| Convergent | Plates collide | Mountains, subduction, deep earthquakes |
| Transform | Plates slide past | Shallow earthquakes |
Why resources are uneven
Oil and gas form where ancient organic-rich sediments were buried at the right depth and temperature, then trapped under impermeable rock — conditions the Arabian basin met exceptionally well. Groundwater collects in porous aquifer rock; metal ores concentrate near past plate boundaries and volcanic activity.
Key vocabulary
- Aquifer
- Rock underground with spaces that hold usable water.
- Subduction
- When one plate sinks beneath another.
Practice questions
0/1 correct
Level 3 · Criterion C
Which observation is strongest evidence that new seafloor forms at mid-ocean ridges?
Reflect & track
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