SEAS curriculum: Unit 1
Plate tectonics and the discovery of hydrothermal vents
This unit contains six activities. Each can be downloaded separately.
Introduction
The ridge environment is particularly fascinating because scientists from many specialized fields (geochemistry, geophysics, oceanography, and biology, to name only a few) must work together to understand the phenomena they are exploring. The lessons in the first unit are designed to give the students a broad overview of:
- Plate tectonics and deep-sea exploration at a mid-ocean ridge
- An introduction to the discovery of hydrothermal vent environments
Activity 1: Our Changing View of the Earth
The theory of plate tectonics is widely accepted today, but the idea of moving plates on Earth's surface was largely rejected by the scientific community until the 1960s. In this lesson, students learn about the nature of the earth's crust and structure, as well as the nature of science through debate. Part 1 invites students to participate in the scientific debate that followed the publication of Alfred Wegener's book, The Origins of Continents and Oceans, in 1912. Part 2 gives students an opportunity to participate in a hypothetical scientific conference and piece together for themselves the subsequent evidence and hypotheses that led to the theory of plate tectonics.
Download Unit 1 Activity 1 now (2.9MB .pdf)
Activity 2: Finding Plate Boundaries
If the earth's crust is broken into a number of rigid plates that ride on the solid but fluid rock of the mantle, what kinds of things would you expect to happen at the edges of those plates? On a world map, students mark areas where they think earthquakes and volcanoes occur. Using lists of recent earthquakes and volcanos, they plot the occurrences of earthquakes and look for patterns in the locations. Using a map that shows the tectonic plate boundaries, students compare plate boundaries with the earthquake and volcano location patterns and speculate on the significance.
Download Unit 1 Activity 2 now (1.6MB .pdf)
Activity 3: Modeling Plate Tectonics
Tectonic plates interact in four different ways at their boundaries. Using simple, available materials, students create models to simulate these interactions to gain further insight into what happens at these boundaries.
Download Unit 1 Activity 3 now (1MB .pdf)
Activity 4: Mapping the Unknown
In this activity, students simulate "soundings" to visualize and map an unknown object inside a Mystery Box, a cardboard box with a shoe or some other familiar object attached to the inside bottom. In Part 1, students use "Sonar Sticks" to scan the box bottom surface and determine depths, and then construct a rough map of the bottom using color to indicate relative differences in depth. The resulting map reveals peaks and valleys but not enough detail of the shape to determine the identity of the object. In Part 2, students remap portions of the box bottom with higher resolution and work together as a class (i.e., a community of scientists) to share their data to determine the box contents.
Download Unit 1 Activity 4 now (0.5MB .pdf)
Activity 5: Reading Contour Maps
This activity helps students understand the relationship between contour maps and bathymetry maps (color depth maps of the ocean bottom). Students learn to interpret a contour map of the East Pacific Rise, and then create a color depth map using "soundings" and contour lines.
Download Unit 1 Activity 5 now (2.2MB .pdf)
Activity 6: Role-playing the Discovery of Hydrothermal Vents
This activity simulates the exciting discovery on the historic February 1977 Galapagos Hydrothermal Expedition in which a group of geologists, geochemists and geophysicists exploring plate boundaries unexpectedly discovered a rich biological community thriving in the absence of sunlight. Students role play the historic Alvin dive, viewing photographs from that expedition, reading comments from the scientists, and taking notes on what they find. After the activity, students discuss the actual 1977 dive and what scientists saw and collected as well as evidence for plate tectonics.
Download Unit 1 Activity 6 now (0.5MB .pdf)