Methods 2: Week 10
1. What did you do in lab today?
In lab today, we used candy to make rocks. In order to do this, we used Starbursts. We started by slitting them into tiny pieces and then forming them together into a ball. After forming a ball, we placed the starburst ball into some tinfoil and heated it up with a butane torch. After heating up the tinfoil ball and the starbursts, we added pressure to the tinfoil by squeezing it with our hands for about a minute. Then, finally, we let it cool off in some cold water for a couple of minutes before unwrapping the tin foil to reveal our crystallized rock.
2.What was the big question?
What happens during the stages of the rock cycle?
3.What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion?
The tectonic plates move because of convection cells underneath the earth's surface. As the lava in the mantle heats up and cools, it moves in a cycle, which in turn causes the plates that rest on top of it to move. The plates can converge (come together), diverge (spread apart), or transform (slide against each other). When plates converge, land features like volcanoes and mountains form. When plates diverge, types of activity like earthquakes occur. Hawaii sits on a hotspot, which is why it looks like a chain of islands. A volcano forms on the hotspot but then moves away as the plates move, which causes new volcanoes to begin to form. This repeated process is why we see chains of islands. Long ago, the plates were all connected in a supercontinent, Pangea. The continents drifted away from each other, but you can still see how they fit together like a puzzle. Then we looked at the stages of the rock cycle: weathering causes sedimentary rock, cooling causes metamorphic rock, and head causes igneous rock. Weathering and erosion is the process of rocks being attacked by the environment; this could be through wind, water, glaciers, etc.
1.What did you learn?
The chapter discussed that the Earth is composed of several layers, each with distinct properties and compositions. The crust, which is the outermost layer, is relatively thin and consists of solid rocks (like basalt and granite). Beneath the crust is the mantle, the largest and thickest layer of the earth. This is where cell convection occurs, which drives the movements of the tectonic plates. These plates, which make up Earth's lithosphere, float on the semi-solid asthenosphere of the upper mantle. The center of the Earth, where heat is generated is the core. Understanding the structure of Earth’s layers provides insight into how geological processes like plate tectonics, volcano activity, and earthquakes occur and shape the Earth’s surface.
2.What was most helpful?
I thought that the visuals were very helpful in terms of understanding plate tectonics and how tectonic plates move. By showing the movement for divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries, I could better understand how the plates move and what features may occur at these boundaries. I also gained a better understanding of how other features, like mid-ocean ridges, trenches, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes, are formed. The concept of convection currents in the mantle driving plate movement helped me better understand why these features occur. Also, the videos did a good job at helping me understand plate movement, why islands form, and how to date rocks.
3.What do you need more information on?
I would like to learn more about where hotspots are for the formation of islands, mountains, volcanoes, and different rocks. Understanding this would help me better understand the starting point for different features being formed, so that I can compare the ages of other features that formed from the hotspot.
3.What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have?
No questions, comments, or concerns at this time.
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