What are plate tectonics simple explanation?
Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s outer shell is divided into large slabs of solid rock, called “plates,” that glide over Earth’s mantle, the rocky inner layer above Earth’s core. Earth’s solid outer layer, which includes the crust and the uppermost mantle, is called the lithosphere.
What are the 4 types of plate tectonics?
What are the major plate tectonic boundaries?
- Divergent: extensional; the plates move apart. Spreading ridges, basin-range.
- Convergent: compressional; plates move toward each other. Includes: Subduction zones and mountain building.
- Transform: shearing; plates slide past each other. Strike-slip motion.
What is the plate tectonic theory for kids?
The definition of tectonic plates for kids involves thinking of the Earth’s crust as large slabs that move over a liquid mantle. Mountains form and earthquakes shake at tectonic plate boundaries, where new landforms rise and fall.
What are the two main factors in the movement of tectonic plates?
Heat and gravity are fundamental to the process 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. It was once thought that mantle convection could drive plate motions.
What are the 4 effects of plate tectonics?
Their movement and effects at plate boundaries are explained e.g. earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, ocean ridges/trenches, subduction (part of the rock cycle).
What are the theories of plate tectonics?
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. How is the theory of plate tectonics explained?
What evidence supports plate tectonics?
What are the 4 pieces of evidence for plate tectonics? There is variety of evidence that supports the claims that plate tectonics accounts for (1) the distribution of fossils on different continents, (2) the occurrence of earthquakes, and (3) continental and ocean floor features including mountains, volcanoes, faults, and trenches.
What are facts about plate tectonics?
Divergent boundaries: where the plates are moving away from one another and new crust is formed from the mantle material.
What are the four pieces of evidence for plate tectonics?
What are the four pieces of evidence for plate tectonics? Evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics includes distribution of rock formation and fossils, shapes of existing continents, ocean floor features, and seismic and volcanic activity.