What causes earthquakes?
A.
Blocks of crust slide against one another, often at plate boundaries.
B.
Pressure builds up in the molten rock beneath Earth's crust and causes it to shake.
C.
Tectonic plates break apart into smaller plates, and the crumbling causes shaking.
D.
Sudden motions in Earth's mantle cause the crust to shift.
my answer is b
I would have picked A,
B is more oriented to volcanos.
thx
The correct answer is A. Blocks of crust slide against one another, often at plate boundaries.
To understand how this causes earthquakes, we need to first understand the concept of tectonic plates. Earth's surface is divided into several large, rigid plates that float on the semi-fluid layer beneath, known as the asthenosphere. These plates are in constant motion, albeit very slowly.
At plate boundaries, the edges of these plates interact in different ways. One type of boundary is called a "convergent boundary", where two plates move towards each other. Another type is a "transform boundary", where two plates slide past each other horizontally.
When plates slide past each other at a transform boundary, they sometimes become stuck due to friction. As the plates continue to move, the stress and pressure along the boundary increase. Eventually, the pent-up energy becomes too great, and the plates suddenly slip, releasing a tremendous amount of energy. This release of energy is what causes an earthquake.
The shaking and vibrations felt during an earthquake are the result of the seismic waves generated by the sudden movement of the rocks along the fault line. These waves travel through the Earth, and when they reach the surface, they can cause devastating effects.
So, to summarize, earthquakes are primarily caused by blocks of crust sliding against one another, often at plate boundaries.