What is Plate Tectonics?

• A. Plate Tectonics
• B. Continental Drift
• C. Mantle
• D. Core

Answer: (A)

Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that Earth's outer shell, the lithosphere, is divided into a number of rigid plates that float on the hotter, partly molten layer beneath. These plates move because of convection currents in the mantle, and they interact at boundaries by pulling apart, colliding, or sliding past one another. This movement explains why earthquakes and volcanoes occur, how mountains form, and why continents drift over time. Continental Drift was an earlier idea suggesting continents move, but plate tectonics provides the mechanism behind that movement. The mantle drives the motion, while the core is a deeper layer and not the focus of the theory.