Which statement correctly describes why earthquakes happen?(1 point)
Responses
Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault.
Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault.
Earth’s crust near magma melts, and the ground collapses.
Earth’s crust near magma melts, and the ground collapses.
Earth’s crust switches places in a periodic manner.
Earth’s crust switches places in a periodic manner.
Earth’s crust undergoes a cycle from a solid material to magma.
Well, earthquakes are caused by the Earth's crust suddenly slipping along a fault. So, option number one is the correct answer. Just imagine the Earth's crust getting a little too excited and deciding to take a little slip and slide. It's like nature's version of playing twister!
The correct statement that describes why earthquakes happen is: "Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault."
To understand why this statement is correct, we need to have some knowledge about the Earth's crust and faults.
The Earth's crust is made up of several tectonic plates that are constantly moving. These plates interact with one another at their boundaries, which can be classified as convergent (coming together), divergent (moving apart), or transform (sliding past each other) boundaries.
A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures in the Earth's crust where rocks on either side have moved past each other. There are different types of faults, including strike-slip faults, where the movement is mostly horizontal, and dip-slip faults, where the movement is predominantly vertical.
During an earthquake, stress builds up along a fault line due to the movement of tectonic plates. When the stress becomes greater than the strength of the rocks holding the plates together, the rocks give way and slip suddenly along the fault. This sudden release of energy generates seismic waves, which we perceive as an earthquake.
Therefore, earthquakes occur when the Earth's crust suddenly slips along a fault, making the statement "Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault" the correct explanation for why earthquakes happen.