Virginia Standards of Learning addressed in this activity include:

Earth Science.1 The student will plan and conduct investigations in which:

• Technologies, including computers, are used to collect, analyze, and report data and to demonstrate concepts and simulate experimental conditions;
• Scales, diagrams, maps, charts, graphs, tables, and profiles are constructed and interpreted
• A scientific viewpoint is constructed and defended.

Earth Science.2 The student will demonstrate scientific reasoning and logic by:

• Analyzing how science explains and predicts the interactions and dynamics of complex Earth systems;
• Evaluating evidence for scientific theories related to plate tectonics, the structure of the Earth, and its ancient age and origin;

Earth Science.3 The student will investigate and understand how to read and interpret maps, globes, models, charts, and imagery. Key concepts include location by latitude and longitude and topographic profiles.


Earth Science. 8 The student will investigate and understand geologic processes including plate tectonics. Key concepts include:

• Processes (faulting, folding, volcanism, metamorphism, weathering, erosion, deposition, and sedimentation) and their resulting features; and
• Tectonic processes (subduction, rifting and sea floor spreading, and continental collision).