Plate tectonics theory

Question 1

What is the process of ridge push?

Answer 1

• molten magma rises at a mid-ocean ridge and it heats the rock around it
• as the lithosphere is heated it expands making it become elevated above the sea floor
• the elevation makes a slope down away from the ridge
• the rock that forms from the magma overtime gets denser and due to gravity it slides away from the ridge
• This process then repeats

Question 2

What is the process of slab pull?

Answer 2

• At a subduction boundary one plate is denser than the other
• The denser and heavier plate then subducts beneath the less dense plate
• The edge of the subducting plate is much heavier than the rest of the mantle so it continues to sink
• this then pulls the rest of the plate along with it.

Question 3

What is the order of plate tectonics from the earths crust to the inner core?

Answer 3

Oceanic crust+ continental crust, Oceanic lithosphere+ continental lithosphere, mantle, outer core, inner core