Tectonic Plates and Plate Boundaries

What are tectonic plates?

• Layers of soil beneath the Earth's surface

• Massive mountains on the ocean floor

• Large pieces of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact

Which layer of the Earth do tectonic plates make up?

• Crust

• Mantle

• Core

What happens at a convergent plate boundary?

• Plates move apart

• Plates slide past each other

• Plates collide and one may be forced beneath the other

Which boundary has plates sliding past each other horizontally?

• Convergent boundary

• Transform boundary

• Divergent boundary

What is the term for the process where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another at a convergent boundary?

• Subduction

• Rifting

• Seafloor spreading

Tags

geomorphological

processes

How do tectonic plates contribute to the creation of landforms?

• By eroding existing landforms

• By shaping the Earth's interior

• By colliding, separating, and sliding past each other

What is the primary consequence of tectonic plate movement at plate boundaries?

• Formation of deserts

• Creation of new oceans

• Earthquakes and volcanic activity

At which type of plate boundary do tectonic plates move apart from each other?

• Convergent boundary

• Transform boundary

• Divergent boundary

What is the outermost layer of the Earth called, where tectonic plates are located?

• Asthenosphere

• Crust

• Mesosphere

How many major tectonic plates are there?

• 5

• 7

• 10