Hotspots - modelling the movement of a plate over a hotspot

Have you tried this ELI? 'Hotspots; modelling the movement of a plate across the globe'
After the activity pupils can understand the motion of one object (the card) relative to another (a point source of heat – a candle) and then be able to relate the card and candle model to the movement of a plate relative to a fixed source of heat in the mantle below. They can also use evidence of volcanic activity in the Pacific Ocean to deduce the on-going motion of the Pacific plate.
Many more activities about plate tectonics can be found on our website.