Actvity Summary: Students will apply concepts of density to determine the relationship between density and depth in a given core, and explain how density affects the movement of the mantle to predict interactions of tectonic plates at convergent boundaries.

This lesson focuses on density, relating it to various factors that can affect the behavior of rocks and tectonic plates. Students will use laboratory skills and data analysis to better understand density, how it is calculated, and how to use data to analyze the effect of temperature and pressure on the density of Earth’s materials. This lesson can help introduce characteristics of rocks and how these relate to features and behaviors of Earth’s layers.

This lesson has been updated and revised based on Density of Oceanic Crust.