Geological Knowledge techniques Comments and and skills understanding The relative movements Interpret the Candidates should be between plates produce a relative movement able to explain why range of magmatic types, of plates from their different types of structures and topography plate boundary volcanoes and identified at different context shown in earthquake activity types of plate boundary. maps and occur at different plate Divergent plate boundaries diagrams. boundaries. [basalt extrusion, sea Candidates should be floor spreading, the Interpret the type of able to calculate origin of basaltic magma plate boundaries from average spreading by partial melting of the data [magmatic, rates or subduction upper mantle, ocean seismic and rates from given data. ridges, high heat flow, rift topographic] provided valleys, abyssal plain] in text, Candidates should e.g. Mid-Atlantic Ridge. diagrams/photographs be able to interpret Conservative plate and maps. plate movement boundaries directions from given [earthquake activity, data. transform faults] e.g. San Andreas fault zone. Convergent plate boundaries: oceanic-oceanic [island arc/trench systems] e.g. Java-Sumatra/ Caribbean. 2. oceanic-continental [active continental margins; subduction zones, Benioff zone, partial melting producing andesitic and granitic magmas] e.g. the Andes. 3. continental-continental [mountain building, folding, thrust faulting, partial melting of the crust producing granites, associated regional metamorphism] e.g. the Himalaya.
Knowledge and understanding Geological techniques and skills Comments The relative movements between plates produce a range of magmatic types, structures and topography identified at different types of plate boundary. Divergent plate boundaries [basalt extrusion, sea floor spreading, the origin of basaltic magma by partial melting of the upper mantle, ocean ridges, high heat flow, rift valleys, abyssal plain] e.g. Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Conservative plate boundaries [earthquake activity, transform faults] e.g. San Andreas fault zone. Convergent plate boundaries: oceanic-oceanic [island arc/trench systems] e.g. Java-Sumatra/ Caribbean. 2. oceanic-continental [active continental margins; subduction zones, Benioff zone, partial melting producing andesitic and granitic magmas] e.g. the Andes. 3. continental-continental [mountain building, folding, thrust faulting, partial melting of the crust producing granites, associated regional metamorphism] e.g. the Himalaya. Interpret the relative movement of plates from their plate boundary context shown in maps and diagrams. Interpret the type of plate boundaries from data [magmatic, seismic and topographic] provided in text, diagrams/photographs and maps. Candidates should be able to explain why different types of volcanoes and earthquake activity occur at different plate boundaries. Candidates should be able to calculate average spreading rates or subduction rates from given data. Candidates should be able to interpret plate movement directions from given data.