Plate Margains Flashcards
What are the three plate margains?
Constructive, destructive, conservative
Constructive plate margain
The plates diverge away from each other.
Hot magma rises between the plates. The tectonic plates move away from each other. The magma cools to form a new plate.
Earthquakes occur here and volcanic eruptions also occur.
Destructive plate margain
Converge towards each other.
When they move towards each other, the pressure builds, eventually causing fractures and them earthquakes. The denser the plates are, the denser oceanic plate sub ducts under the continental plate into the mantle.
Hot magma can rise through and erupt as lava through volcanoes.
Earthquakes and volcanoes occur.
Conservative plate margain
They slide parallel past each other.
Pressure builds at the margain of the plates as they are pulled along behind a plate being subducted elsewhere. As friction is built, the rock fractures in an earthquake.
Earthquakes occur here but volcanoes don’t.
Convection currents
The hot core causes magma to rise in the mantle and sink towards the core when it cools.
Convection builds pressure and carries plates with it.
