3 Comments December 16th, 2008

Calculate the rate of movement, in cm/yr, of the Pacific plate if the island of Kauai is?

Elizabeth S asked:


4.7 million years old and is 540 kilometers from the current hot spot activity.

(1 kilometer = 100,000 centimeters).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 6:50 pm and is filed under Kauai. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Calculate the rate of movement, in cm/yr, of the Pacific plate if the island of Kauai is?”

  1. Kellie Says:
    December 19th, 2008 at 1:55 am

    I won’t solve it for you, but I will help you set up the problem!

    The rate of movement is like a velocity, or the speed of a car.

    All this problem is is a conversion, but with large numbers and unfamiliar units it can seem confusing.

    So lets look at the problem. The pacific plate is 4.7 million years old, or 4,700,000 years old. Kauai is an island of hawaii formed by volcanic hotspot activity. Its now 540 km away from the active hotspot, meaning the island has moved 540km away from the hotspot in 4,700,000 years.

    so if it moves 540km in 4,700,000 years, how many km does kauai move in one year. How many centimenters does it move in one year?

    Does that help you understand how to set up the problem?

  2. Tom Says:
    December 21st, 2008 at 9:48 am

    Kellie has the mind of a teacher. She’s right, but lets you actually solve the problem. Thank you, Kellie.

  3. A.Ganapathy India Says:
    December 21st, 2008 at 10:48 am

    The rate of movement of tectonic plates differ from place to place.But it is from 5 c.m.to 10 c.m per year only.