Name _______________________________
Date ___________ Class Period ____
“Snack Tectonics” Lab Exercise
Purpose: To identify and describe the three types of plate boundaries and their individual
effects on the Earth
Pre-lab Questions:
1) Name and describe the three types of plate boundaries.
a)__________________________________________________________
b)__________________________________________________________
c)__________________________________________________________
2) What determines the direction that the two plates will move at boundaries?
___________________________________________________________
3) What is the relationship between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere upon
examining the Earth’s layers?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________.
Procedures: *use the instruction packet at your lab table
1. Create the following boundaries using the correct food items at your table. Keep in mind
what happens at each plate boundary.
a. Divergent
b. Transform
c. Continental - continental convergent
d. Continental - oceanic convergent
2. On the back of this sheet, draw what is occurring at each plate boundary and
describe what happens at each (include motion of the plates and any features found)
MAKE SURE THAT YOU USE “DIRECTION ARROWS” TO INDICATE THE
MOVEMENT OF THE PLATES AND LABEL THE PARTS OF YOUR DRAWING!!
*In your illustrations make sure that you use “direction arrows” to show how the graham
crackers and fruit roll-ups are moving. Remember to write a description of what happened
below each picture!! Label your diagram!
Divergent Plate boundary:
Continental-Oceanic collision:
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
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________________________________
Continental--Continental collision:
Transform Plate boundary:
________________________________
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________________________________
________________________________
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________________________________
Name______________________________ Date______________ Class Period _______
Post-Lab Discussion Questions:
1. In this lab activity, what type of plate was represented by the fruit roll-up? __________________
2. What type of plate was represented by the graham cracker? ______________________
3. What physical layer of the earth did the frosting represent? _______________________
Directions: Identify the type of boundary associated with each picture below.
4. Boundary: _______________ 5. Boundary: ________________ 6. Boundary: _______________
7. In the space below, write one paragraph (at least five sentences) that answers this question:
Identify and describe the “driving force” behind the movement of the plates. (Be Specific!!!)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Name______________________________ Date______________ Class Period _______
Post-Lab Discussion Questions (B) :
1. In this lab activity, what type of plate was represented by the fruit roll-up? _________________
2. What type of plate was represented by the graham cracker? _____________________
3. What physical layer of the earth did the frosting represent? ______________________
Directions: Identify the type of boundary associated with each picture below.
4. Boundary: _______________ 5. Boundary: ________________ 6. Boundary: _______________
7. In the space below, write a paragraph (at least 4 sentences) that identifies and describes the
three types of plate boundaries and their individual effects on the Earth.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________