Seafloor Spreading

Front

What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics?

Back

The Theory of Plate Tectonics explains that Earth's plates are in slow, constant motion driven by convection currents in the mantle.

Front

What happens at a divergent boundary?

Back

At a divergent boundary, tectonic plates pull apart from each other.

Front

Where do most volcanoes and earthquakes occur?

Back

Most volcanoes and earthquakes occur along tectonic plate boundaries.

Front

What is oceanic crust?

Back

Oceanic crust is the thinner, more dense, younger crust primarily made of basalt that forms the ocean floor.

Front

What type of plate boundary formed the Himalayas?

Back

The Himalayas were formed at a continent-to-continent convergent boundary.

Front

What is a tectonic plate?

Back

A tectonic plate is a massive slab of solid rock that makes up Earth's lithosphere and moves over the semi-fluid asthenosphere.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

Subduction is the process where one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle.

Front

What is a transform boundary?

Back

A transform boundary is where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally.

Front

What is the asthenosphere?

Back

The asthenosphere is the semi-fluid layer of the mantle on which tectonic plates float.

Front

What is continental crust?

Back

Continental crust is the thicker, less dense crust that forms the continents, primarily composed of granite.