this is what i have to have...All key elements of the assignment are covered in a substantive way.
· The student distinguishes the types of plate margins and how they move.
· The student discusses why earthquakes are common along plate margins or boundaries.
· The student discusses how the Earth moves when it does quake and shake.
· The student discusses the events that cause the Earth to quake and shake.
· The student discusses earthquake measurements.
· The student briefly describes two types of body waves an earthquake creates.
· The student provides an example of an area prone to earthquakes.
· The paper is 700 to 1,050 words in length.
I only have 431 words right now
i Have this so far: There are three fundamentally different ways in which they can interact. They can move away from each other (diverge); they can move toward each other (converge); or they can slide past each other along a long fracture.
Diverge: also called rifting or spreading centers, occur where two plates are moving apart. They can occur either in continental or oceanic crust.
In East Africa, for example, the African plate is being stretched and torn apart, creating long rift valleys. Eventually a new ocean may form in the widening rift; a modern example of this is the Red Sea. Where oceanic crust is splitting apart, the result is a midocean ridge.
Converge: occur where two plates move toward each other. This leads to different types of margins, depending on whether the boundary is between two oceanic plates, two continental plates, or one of each.
When one continent meets another continent along a convergent margin, they crumple upwards and downwards as the lithosphere thickens, in a collision zone.
Another kind of convergent margin occurs when one or both plates are oceanic. In this case, one plate will typically slide beneath the other plate, plunging into the asthenosphere, where water released from the wet rocks of the seafloor promotes formation of magma.
Transform faults: occur where two plates slide past each other, grinding and abrading their edges as they do so. The San Andreas Fault in California, it separates the northwesterly moving Pacific plate from the adjacent North American plate, which is moving toward the southwest. Transform faults are much more common in the ocean floor, where hundreds of them run perpendicular to the midocean ridges (see Figure 4.10). This causes the plates to have very complicated; jagged boundaries in which spreading centers alternate with transform faults.
Why earthquakes are common along plate margins and boundaries: Earthquakes occur along faults, where huge blocks of rock are grinding past each other. Tectonic motions produce directional pressure, which causes rocks on either side of a large fracture to move past each other. The movement is rarely smooth; usually the blocks stick because of friction, which slows their movement. Eventually, the friction is overcome and the blocks slip abruptly, releasing pent-up energy with a
Huge “snap”—an earthquake.
The actual location beneath the surface where the earthquake begins is called the focus. This should not be confused with the better-known epicenter, which is the point on Earth’s surface that lies directly over the focus. The depths of foci provide useful information about the
Characteristics of the plate margin
I am still trying to work on it more too
Dawn, you've done a fine job of covering the first two points. Now finish by discussing the last five points.
It seems like you have made a good start on your assignment, but you still need to cover several key elements. Here are some suggestions to help you expand on the topics you've already discussed:
To distinguish the types of plate margins and how they move:
- Provide more details about each type of plate margin (divergent, convergent, transform).
- Explain how the movement of plates leads to different geologic features and phenomena, such as rift valleys, mid-ocean ridges, and collisions.
To discuss why earthquakes are common along plate margins or boundaries:
- Talk about how the tectonic forces and motions at plate boundaries cause stress and pressure on rocks.
- Describe how the release of accumulated energy when rocks finally slip past each other results in an earthquake.
- Mention the concept of faulting and how earthquakes occur along faults.
To discuss how the Earth moves when it quakes and shakes:
- Explain the concept of seismic waves and their propagation through the Earth.
- Talk about the different types of seismic waves generated during an earthquake (body waves and surface waves).
- Provide descriptions of the motion of these waves and how they can cause the ground to shake.
To discuss the events that cause the Earth to quake and shake:
- Highlight the role of plate tectonics and the movement of plates in causing earthquakes.
- Discuss the occurrence of earthquakes along fault lines and the factors that influence their frequency and intensity.
- Mention other triggers of earthquakes such as volcanic activity or human-induced activities like mining or reservoir-induced seismicity.
To discuss earthquake measurements:
- Explain the different scales used to measure and quantify earthquakes, such as the Richter scale and the moment magnitude scale.
- Discuss how these scales measure the amplitude of seismic waves and the amount of energy released during an earthquake.
To briefly describe two types of body waves:
- Provide a concise definition and description of primary waves (P-waves) and secondary waves (S-waves).
- Discuss the characteristics and motion of each type of wave, including the speed of propagation and the nature of the particle motion.
To provide an example of an area prone to earthquakes:
- Choose a specific location known for its seismicity, such as the San Andreas Fault in California or the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean.
- Discuss the geological setting and plate tectonic processes that make these areas prone to earthquakes.
Remember to expand on these topics to meet the word count requirement of 700 to 1,050 words. Additionally, make sure to organize your thoughts and ideas in a coherent manner and support your statements with reliable sources or references.