RP 2-3 (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 are tectonic plates?

Back

Large sections of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact with each other.

Front

What is a Transform boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where plates slide past each other, causing earthquakes.

Front

What is a Divergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where plates move away from each other, often creating new crust.

Front

What is a Convergent boundary?

Back

A tectonic plate boundary where plates move toward each other, often causing one plate to be forced beneath another.

Front

What is mantle convection?

Back

The process by which heat from the Earth's interior causes the mantle to flow, driving the movement of tectonic plates.

Front

What is ridge push?

Back

A mechanism of plate movement that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new crust is formed and pushes older crust away.

Front

What is slab pull?

Back

A mechanism of plate movement that occurs when a denser oceanic plate sinks beneath a less dense continental plate.

Front

What are earthquakes?

Back

Vibrations of the Earth caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust, often occurring at tectonic plate boundaries.

Front

What is a fault?

Back

A fracture in the Earth's crust along which movement has occurred.