What causes plate tectonics quizlet?

convection currents are a process in which the materials inside the mantle heat up and rise to the surface whilst the cooler liquid sinks; as it sinks it then heats up and rises again. This continuous cycle is established: hot liquid rising, cold liquid descending. These currents cause the tectonic plates to move.

What causes plate tectonics?

The force that causes most of the plate movement is thermal convection, where heat from the Earth’s interior causes currents of hot rising magma and cooler sinking magma to flow, moving the plates of the crust along with them.

What are the 3 causes of plate movement quizlet?

Terms in this set (5)

• Mantle Convection. Process by which heat from Earth’s inner and outer cores is transferred through the mantle.
• Mantle convection, ridge push, slab pull. 3 hypothesis about plate movement.
• asthenosphere. the soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move.
• ridge push. …
• slab pull.

What causes tectonic plates to move Quizizz?

Hot magma rises through the boundaries at the mid-ocean ranges, creating new rock as it cools and pushing the plates apart. The strength of the Earth’s magnetic field is so strong it affects the iron filled rocks at mid-ocean ranges, pushing them apart causing the movement in the sea floor. Q.

What are the causes and effects of plate tectonics?

The movement of these tectonic plates is likely caused by convection currents in the molten rock in Earth’s mantle below the crust. Earthquakes and volcanoes are the short-term results of this tectonic movement. The long-term result of plate tectonics is the movement of entire continents over millions of years (Fig.

What are the 3 main causes of earthquakes?

5 Main Causes of Earthquakes

• Volcanic Eruptions. The main cause of the earthquake is volcanic eruptions.
• Tectonic Movements. The surface of the earth consists of some plates, comprising of the upper mantle. …
• Geological Faults. …
• Man-Made. …
• Minor Causes.

What causes a tectonic earthquake?

Most earthquakes are tectonic earthquakes, which happen when the large, thin plates of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle become stuck as they move past one another. They lock together, and pressure builds up. When they finally release, earthquakes occur.

What type of plate boundary causes earthquakes?

convergent boundaries

About 80% of earthquakes occur where plates are pushed together, called convergent boundaries. Another form of convergent boundary is a collision where two continental plates meet head-on.

How do the tectonic plates work?

The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth’s solid outer crust, the lithosphere, is separated into plates that move over the asthenosphere, the molten upper portion of the mantle. Oceanic and continental plates come together, spread apart, and interact at boundaries all over the planet.

What are the two main factors of tectonic plates movement?

Heat and gravity are fundamental to the process

Lithospheric plates are part of a planetary scale thermal convection system. The energy source for plate tectonics is Earth’s internal heat while the forces moving the plates are the “ridge push” and “slab pull” gravity forces.

What is plate tectonics short answer?

Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth’s subterranean movements. The theory, which solidified in the 1960s, transformed the earth sciences by explaining many phenomena, including mountain building events, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

What is an example of plate tectonics?

An example is where the western edge of South America meets the Pacific Ocean. In this case, the collision is between a continental plate and an oceanic plate, and a subduction zone forms where the heavier oceanic basalt is forced beneath the lighter continental materials along a deep trench.

What type of plate boundary causes volcanoes to form?

convergent

Destructive, or convergent, plate boundaries are where the tectonic plates are moving towards each other. Volcanoes form here in two settings where either oceanic plate descends below another oceanic plate or an oceanic plate descends below a continental plate.

What does divergent plate boundaries cause?

A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent plate boundaries.

What are the 3 theories of plate tectonics?

The three types of plate boundaries are divergent, convergent, and transform. They are described in the following three concepts. Most geological activity takes place at plate boundaries.

What new information led to the theory of plate tectonics?

During the war, the latest radar technology was used to map the seafloor. Rapidly, evidence pointing to the process of seafloor spreading and effective plate motion was accumulated. After the war, marine geology was developed, which led to the discovery of the subduction process under the continental margins.

Who contributed to the theory of plate tectonics?

Alfred Wegener

The “Father of Plate Tectonics”, Alfred Wegener proposed “Continental Drift” in 1912, but was ridiculed by fellow scientists. It would take another 50 years for the concept to be accepted.

What was the theory before plate tectonics?

Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved over time. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics.

Are continents still moving?

The plates are always moving and interacting in a process called plate tectonics. The continents are still moving today. Some of the most dynamic sites of tectonic activity are seafloor spreading zones and giant rift valleys.

What is produced when plates slide against each other?

When oceanic or continental plates slide past each other in opposite directions, or move in the same direction but at different speeds, a transform fault boundary is formed. No new crust is created or subducted, and no volcanoes form, but earthquakes occur along the fault.

What caused the separation of South America and Africa?

Magma from below the Earth’s crust began pushing upward, creating a fissure between what would become Africa, South America and North America. As part of this process, Pangaea cracked into a northernmost and southernmost supercontinent.

How did the South American plate and African plate move?

Chapter 2: How did the South American Plate and African Plate move? Students figure out: The South American and African plates moved apart as a divergent boundary formed between them and an ocean basin formed and spread. Earth’s plates move on top of a soft, solid layer of rock called the mantle.

What was the continent called before it split?

Pangea

They all existed as a single continent called Pangea. Pangea first began to be torn apart when a three-pronged fissure grew between Africa, South America, and North America.