Lesson 10 of 84 · Fossils
Experiment⭐ 30 XPPlate Tectonics: Moving Continents
Plate Tectonics: Moving Continents.
🎯 Your mission
Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).
⚡ The twist
Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.
Mind = Blown
🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.
Make a hypothesis first
Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.
What You'll Learn
Tectonic plates are huge slabs of Earth's crust that float on the mantle. Where plates meet, earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building occur.
Key Words
- erosion
- sediment
- igneous
Materials Needed
- newspaper
- spray bottle
- cups
- thermometer
- rain gauge
Safety First
- Protect your work surface with newspaper or plastic.
Steps
Study the diagram and label the parts you recognize.
Create a model of the water cycle in a bowl: place warm water in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, put ice on top, and observe condensation and precipitation.
Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.
Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What forms when tectonic plates collide?
Where you see this in real life
This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.
For the dinner table
“What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
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