Lesson 29A: Mountain Building (Now Core)

Lesson 29A: Mountain Building Supplemental Lesson

Estimated Time: Two forty-five minute class periods

Indicator(s): Core Learning Goal 1

1.2.3 The student will formulate a working hypothesis.
1.5.2 The student will explain scientific concepts and processes through drawing, writing, and/or oral communication
1.5.5 The student will create and/or interpret graphics. (scale drawings, photographs, digital images, etc.)
1.5.9 The student will communicate conclusions derived through a synthesis of ideas.

Indicator(s): Core Learning Goal 2
2.4.1.?The student will describe the structure of the Earth.
At least — inner core, outer core, mantle, lithosphere- crust and upper mantle

2.4.4 The student will apply the law of conservation to the processes that affect rocks and minerals.
2.4.5.?The student will explain the dynamic activity of the earth
At least — plate tectonics, sea floor spreading, faulting, earthquakes, and volcanoes

Student Outcome(s):

The student will be able to describe how tectonic activity shapes the face of the Earth by investigating how mountains form.

The student will be able to demonstrate the relationship between isostasy and mountain building by constructing a model.
Brief Description:

By comparing a topographic map with information on plate boundaries, students will be asked to draw conclusions about relationships between plate tectonics and the formation of mountain ranges. A class discussion on the mechanics of mountain formation will lead to individual hypotheses on how mountains may have formed. Students will communicate their ideas by constructing models. Then, students will be assigned mountains or mountain ranges for study. They will communicate their findings in the form of revised hypotheses and models. The concept of isostasy will be introduced.

Background knowledge / teacher notes:

The great mountain ranges of the world were created because of the constant but very slow movement of the Earth's plates. When the plates of the Earth collide, the crust folds into high mountain ranges. The roots of the world's great mountain ranges contain some of the oldest rocks on the surface of the Earth. Some of these rocks are over 3.5 billion years old! These rocks were once buried deep inside the Earth and have been raised into mountains by the collisions of the plates. These plates travel at a very slow rate about 1 to 4 inches per year. The Indian Subcontinent was a very fast mover, clipping along at over 4 inches per year. When it slammed into the Eurasian plate over 24 million years ago the collision built the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas. In fact, the Himalayas are still climbing higher and higher today. All rock that is put under extreme pressure for long periods of time (thousands or millions of years) will fold like clay.

Folding is a process in which the Earth's plates are pushed together in a roller coaster like series of high points and low points. Folding bends many layers of rocks without breaking them. The Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains of the United States and the Alps of Europe are examples of mountain ranges that were formed by folding. Many of the greatest mountain ranges of the world have formed because of enormous collisions between continents. The Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern United States were formed about 400 million years ago when North America and Africa collided.

Mountains sometimes form when many layers of the Earth's crust are moved vertically upward at fault lines by pressures caused by plates colliding. Fault lines are great cracks in the crust. The mountains that are formed in this way are called fault-block mountains. The Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton range of Wyoming are examples of fault-block mountains. The Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, and the Adirondack Mountains of New York are low mountains that were formed when the crust was heaved upward without folding or faulting into a rounded dome. These are called Dome Mountains. Dome mountains are much higher in elevation than the surrounding land and because of this erosion occurs at a very fast rate

Reprinted from VolcanoWorld. Available:

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/lessons/Ch1CMB/Content3.html

Lesson Description:

ENGAGE

Have students list mountain ranges.

Supply students with a worksheet containing a world map showing plate boundaries.

Using a topographic world map as a reference, students will shade areas containing mountain ranges and label the mountain ranges.

Examine the mountain ranges. Where are the highest mountains found? Where are the oldest mountains? Is there a relationship between the location of the mountain ranges and plate boundaries?

EXPLORE

As a class, discuss how mountains might be formed. Mountains can be formed by folding or faulting of the earth’s crust or through volcanic activity (volcanoes or dome mountains)

Write hypotheses to explain the formation of mountains.

Give students four different colors of clay or sheets of foam rubber.

Using the different colors of clay or foam rubber form a level stack. The colors represent layers of sedimentary rock.

Students will test their hypothesis by forming mountains or mountain ranges in as many ways as possible.
Education Element:

BACKGROUND

on Mountain Building

http://windows.arc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/earth/interior/mountain_building.html&art=ok&cdp=/windows3.html&cd=false&frp=/windows3.html&fr=f&sw=false&edu=high

EXPLAIN

Journal Write:

Draw an illustration representing the results of each experiment in mountain building.

Next to each illustration explain how the mountain was formed.

Discuss, as a class, the four ways mountains can be formed: folded mountains, fault-block mountains, volcanic mountains and dome mountains.

EXTEND

Assign each group of students a mountain or mountain range to research. Students will design a poster illustrating the how the mountain was formed and the forces that shaped the mountain.

Suggested mountains to investigate:

Folded mountains: Andes, Appalachians, Himalayas, Canadian Rockies

Fault-block mountains: Sierra Nevada ,Basin and Range Province, Arizona

Volcanic mountains: Cascade Range

Dome mountains: Black Hills of South Dakota and Adirondack mountains of New York

Students will present their results to the class.

GT Connection: Formation of continents through orogenesis

Knowing that continents are floating on the asthenosphere, how would the addition of mountains affect the vertical location of continents? The Appalachian mountains were once much taller than they are now. How does erosion affected the location of the continents?

Journal Write: Write a hypothesis to predict how continents will act as mountains are added or removed.

Using thick, flat pieces of Styrofoam, weights, a clear pan, and water, design an experiment to test your hypothesis.

Conduct the experiment and analyze the results.

[Notice that if enough weights are added the edges of the "land" might begin to rise. This does not occur on continents because the mountains have crustal roots. The crust is much thicker under the mountains 80km vs. 35km. The area of the continents containing mountains floats much like an iceberg.]
Education Element: Extend

IMAGERY

Image / Diagrams of Himalayan mountains

http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-48.HTML

Image /diagrams of Appalchains

http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.HTML

Image /diagrams of folded Appalachains

http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-12.HTML

Imagery volcanic mountains Mt. St. Helens

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/stories/LandSat/mt_st_helens.html

EVALUATE

Journal Write: This experiment demonstrates the concept of isostasy. (Isostasy describes the relationship between an object and the liquid in which it floats.) In your journal explain how this experiment illustrates isostasy.

Materials:

Different colored strips of foam rubber

Different colors of clay

Internet access

Thick, flat pieces of Styrofoam

Weights

Clear pan

Water

Resources:

Relief maps of US. Available:

http://www.research.digital.com/SRC/personal/birrell/reliefMaps/

Heath (1999). Earth Science Laboratory Investigations. Faulting and Folding pp. 72 —74.

Heath (1999). Earth Science Laboratory Investigations. Faults and Tilted Layers pp. 75 —76.

Regional Landforms. Available:

http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_CHAPTER_2_TABLE.HTML

ENGAGE	Have students list mountain ranges. Supply students with a worksheet containing a world map showing plate boundaries. Using a topographic world map as a reference, students will shade areas containing mountain ranges and label the mountain ranges. Examine the mountain ranges. Where are the highest mountains found? Where are the oldest mountains? Is there a relationship between the location of the mountain ranges and plate boundaries?
EXPLORE	As a class, discuss how mountains might be formed. Mountains can be formed by folding or faulting of the earth’s crust or through volcanic activity (volcanoes or dome mountains) Write hypotheses to explain the formation of mountains. Give students four different colors of clay or sheets of foam rubber. Using the different colors of clay or foam rubber form a level stack. The colors represent layers of sedimentary rock. Students will test their hypothesis by forming mountains or mountain ranges in as many ways as possible. Education Element: BACKGROUND on Mountain Building http://windows.arc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/earth/interior/mountain_building.html&art=ok&cdp=/windows3.html&cd=false&frp=/windows3.html&fr=f&sw=false&edu=high
EXPLAIN	Journal Write: Draw an illustration representing the results of each experiment in mountain building. Next to each illustration explain how the mountain was formed. Discuss, as a class, the four ways mountains can be formed: folded mountains, fault-block mountains, volcanic mountains and dome mountains.
EXTEND	Assign each group of students a mountain or mountain range to research. Students will design a poster illustrating the how the mountain was formed and the forces that shaped the mountain. Suggested mountains to investigate: Folded mountains: Andes, Appalachians, Himalayas, Canadian Rockies Fault-block mountains: Sierra Nevada ,Basin and Range Province, Arizona Volcanic mountains: Cascade Range Dome mountains: Black Hills of South Dakota and Adirondack mountains of New York Students will present their results to the class. GT Connection: Formation of continents through orogenesis Knowing that continents are floating on the asthenosphere, how would the addition of mountains affect the vertical location of continents? The Appalachian mountains were once much taller than they are now. How does erosion affected the location of the continents? Journal Write: Write a hypothesis to predict how continents will act as mountains are added or removed. Using thick, flat pieces of Styrofoam, weights, a clear pan, and water, design an experiment to test your hypothesis. Conduct the experiment and analyze the results. [Notice that if enough weights are added the edges of the "land" might begin to rise. This does not occur on continents because the mountains have crustal roots. The crust is much thicker under the mountains 80km vs. 35km. The area of the continents containing mountains floats much like an iceberg.] Education Element: Extend IMAGERY Image / Diagrams of Himalayan mountains http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-48.HTML Image /diagrams of Appalchains http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.HTML Image /diagrams of folded Appalachains http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/DAAC_DOCS/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-12.HTML Imagery volcanic mountains Mt. St. Helens http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/stories/LandSat/mt_st_helens.html
EVALUATE	Journal Write: This experiment demonstrates the concept of isostasy. (Isostasy describes the relationship between an object and the liquid in which it floats.) In your journal explain how this experiment illustrates isostasy.