Plate Tectonics

Front

What is Plate Tectonics?

Back

The theory that explains the structure and movement of the Earth's lithosphere, which is divided into tectonic plates.

Front

What happens at an Oceanic-Continental plate boundary?

Back

The oceanic plate subducts beneath the continental plate.

Front

Where does the heat that drives convection currents come from?

Back

The Earth's core.

Front

What causes tectonic plates to move?

Back

Convection currents in the mantle.

Front

What is a transform boundary?

Back

A boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other without subducting.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

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

Front

What is the mantle?

Back

The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core, where convection currents occur.

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The gradual movement of continents across the Earth's surface through geological time.

Front

What are convection currents?

Back

Circulating currents in the mantle caused by the heat from the core, driving the movement of tectonic plates.

Front

What happens at a divergent boundary?

Back

Tectonic plates move apart, creating new crust as magma rises to the surface.