Plate Tectonics Flashcard-2025

Front

What are mid-ocean ridges?

Back

Mid-ocean ridges are underwater mountain ranges formed by plate tectonics, where tectonic plates are moving apart.

Front

True or false: Mid-ocean ridges exist in the middle of tectonic plates.

Back

False. Mid-ocean ridges are located at divergent boundaries between tectonic plates.

Front

What type of plate boundary is formed when two plates collide?

Back

Convergent boundary.

Front

What are rifts?

Back

Rifts are cracks in the Earth's crust where tectonic plates are separating, commonly found at mid-ocean ridges.

Front

True or false: Rocks on the continental crust are older than rocks on oceanic crust.

Back

True. Continental crust is generally older than oceanic crust.

Front

What is subduction?

Back

Subduction is the process where one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle.

Front

What is sea floor spreading?

Back

Sea floor spreading is the process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as tectonic plates pull apart.

Front

What are tectonic plates?

Back

Tectonic plates are large sections of the Earth's lithosphere that move and interact with each other.

Front

What is a transform boundary?

Back

A transform boundary is where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally.

Front

What is the lithosphere?

Back

The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.