What is most responsible for any movement in the Earth’s rock plates?(1 point)
Responses
convergent plate boundaries
convergent plate boundaries
landforms
landforms
divergent plate boundaries
divergent plate boundaries
convection currents
convection currents
Which layer of Earth is best characterized as a layer of soft, hot rock?(1 point)
Responses
outer core
outer core
crust
crust
inner core
inner core
mantle
mantle
The most responsible for any movement in the Earth's rock plates are convection currents.
The correct answer is convection currents. Convection currents are responsible for the movement of Earth's tectonic plates. To understand why this is the case, you can think of the Earth's mantle as a viscous fluid. Heat from the Earth's core causes the mantle to become hot and rise, while cooler mantle material sinks. This continuous cycle of rising and sinking creates convection currents within the mantle.
These convection currents exert forces on the overlying tectonic plates, causing them to move. Where convection currents diverge, plates are pulled apart, creating divergent plate boundaries. At these boundaries, new crust is formed as magma rises to the surface. Conversely, where convection currents converge, plates are pushed together, creating convergent plate boundaries. At these boundaries, one plate may be forced beneath the other, leading to subduction zones and volcanic activity.
In summary, convection currents in the Earth's mantle are largely responsible for driving the movement of the tectonic plates, which in turn shape our planet's landforms and contribute to geological phenomena such as earthquakes and volcanoes.