Tectonics

Question 1

How many tectonic plates are there?

Answer 1

52

Question 2

What are the 7 major plates

Answer 2

Pacific 
North American
South American
African
Eurasian
Indo-Australian
Antarctic

Question 3

How many minor tectonic plates are there

Answer 3

8

Question 4

What are the names of the minor tectonic plates

Answer 4

Caribbean 
Cocos 
Arabian
Juan de Fuca
Scotia
Indian
Nazca 
Philippine

Question 5

many or few microplates?

Answer 5

many

Question 6

Three examples of tectonic hazards

Answer 6

Earthquakes
Volcanic Eruptions
Tsunamis

Question 7

What three things cause the largest consequences from tectonic hazards

Answer 7

active tectonic plate boundaries
high population density
medium/high development

Question 8

How do we describe the global pattern/distribution of tectonic activity?

Answer 8

Pattern
general statements about distribution in terms of lines, bands, clusters and whether it happened on the plate boundary or not

Detail
specific facts e.g it is a destructive boundary between the Nazca and South American Plate

Anomalies
outliers, such as hotspots in the interior of plates

Question 9

What are the causes of tectonic hazards

Answer 9

• tectonic plates move in different directions and different speeds, creating different types of plate boundary and therefore variations in earthquake and volcanic activity
• or tectonic hazards in the middle of plates
  - the earthquakes here are due to ancient faults which cause solid crust cracking over millions of years
  - volcanic activity (hotspots) happen here due to upwelling of hot molten material from core/mantle boundary or from top of huge mantle plume just under the crust (Nyiragongo, African Plate)

-meteorites can also cause symmetrical hot spots on opposite sides of the planet