Plate Tectonics

Front

What is Plate Tectonics?

Back

The theory that explains the structure and movement of Earth's lithosphere, which is divided into tectonic plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Large, rigid pieces of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact at their boundaries, causing geological events.

Front

What causes the movement of tectonic plates?

Back

Convection currents in the mantle, driven by heat from the Earth's core, cause the plates to move.

Front

What is a mid-ocean ridge?

Back

An underwater mountain range formed by plate tectonics, where new oceanic crust is created as tectonic plates pull apart.

Front

What geological events are common at plate boundaries?

Back

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building.

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The hypothesis that continents have moved over geological time and were once joined together in a supercontinent.

Front

How does the age of rocks change with distance from a mid-ocean ridge?

Back

Rocks become increasingly older as they move away from the mid-ocean ridge.

Front

What is the relationship between continental drift and plate tectonics?

Back

Plate tectonics provides the mechanism that explains how continental drift occurs.

Front

What is a convergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, often causing mountains or subduction zones.

Front

What is a divergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates move apart, leading to the formation of new crust.