What is Tectonic plates?

Answer 1

Plate tectonicsPlate tectonics is the study of the individual large masses of material on the surface of the earth, and how they relate to and move relative to each other. they are basically left overs from what the earth had been before, now the earth are all broken into little pieces.
Plate tectonics is the science and study of the causes of, and relative motions of, Earth's lithospheric plates.

The lithospheric plates are composed of the rocky crust and outermost rocky layer of the mantle which are fused together. The entire outer surface of the planet is divided into these plate formations, roughly 30 in total, which vary in size from over 100,000,000 square miles (Pacific Plate) to the Galapagos microplate at 12,000 square miles. The individual plates are separated by fault lines which extend from the surface all the way to the asthenosphere, at which point the fault disappear yay

The plates are constantly in relative motion to each other, but this motion is extremely slow due to the incredible amount of mass being moved, friction, and the high viscosity of the asthenosphere.

The boundaries between plates can be convergent (where they are colliding from opposite directions), divergent (where they are moving away from each other), or transform (where they are grinding past each other). Due to differences in density between oceanic and continental lithospheres, collisions will either result in subduction, where the denser plate dives beneath the less dense plate, and becomes part of the asthenosphere, or in mountain building, where neither plate subducts but is thrust upward. This happens in continental to continental lithospheric plate collision. At divergent plate boundaries, the lithosphere is hot and thin and the fault between plates acts as a conduit for heated and molten rock to reach the surface where it forms into new crust. The bulk of divergent boundaries are under the oceans, forming the mid-ocean ridge system, the world's longest continuous mountain range. At transform boundaries, the plates grind past each other (ex: San Andreas Fault), and can result in earthquakes as the grinding rocks suddenly snap into new positions.

Plate movements occur because the layer of Earth directly below the lithosphere, the asthenosphere, is hot enough, and under enough lithostatic pressure to prevent its melting, that it can deform without fracture. And although convection of heat does play a role in the movement of lithospheric plates, the convection currents themselves may be caused by gravity, which induces the sinking of older dense slabs of oceanic crust at subduction zones (also called slab pull).

Plate tectonics is responsible for most of Earth's geologic features. As plates collide, the crust crumples and mountain ranges form. The shape and position of the oceans and continents is also the result of plate movement. Of course, these processes are extremely slow and take millions of years to produce noticeable or significant change. At one point about 200 million years ago, all seven continents were joined as one landmass known as Pangea. This supercontinent began to rift and break apart through plate tectonics, which explains why the continents (especially Africa and South America) seem to fit together like a puzzle.
Plate tectonics is the unifying theory of geology. It was established in the 1960s, making it one of the most recent revolutions in all of science. The theory describes the lithosphere (the outer rocky layer of the earth) as a collection of rigid plates that move sideways above a less rigid layer called the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is made up of rock that is under tremendous pressure, which softens it and allows it to move and circulate slowly. Plate tectonics is useful in the field of geology because it can be used to explain a variety of geologic processes, including volcanic activity, earthquakes, and mountain building. Plate tectonics are what creates some of the worlds natural diasters. E.g: Tsunami's, Earthquakes, ect. Plates rub together to causes these diasters. There are many different plates in our world: * Major plates, * Minor plates, * Ancient plates and * Plates within orogens. They can move towards eachother, away from eachother or side by side.
Plate tectonics is the moving of the lithosphere layer of the Earth's crust. This layer is the outer layer of the Earth's crust.
it's the moving of the tectonic plates which are 7 or 8 plates that make up the earths crust.

Answer 2

Plate tectonics is a theory that explains the structure of the earth's crust. The Earth's current structure was is the result of the interaction of rigid lithospheric plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle.

Answer 3

The theory of plate tectonics posits that the Earth's crust is composed of separate plates. Because of uneven heating in Earth's mantle, these plates are always in motion.

Answer 4

I think plate tectonics is when under the Earth, when the plate tectonics move or overlap slightly, it causes and earthquake, tsunami and/or other natural disasters.

Answer 5

a plate tectonic is a dis that gets installed to like pretty much every thing in the world

Answer 6

Plates in your moms kitchen.

Answer 7

its the earths crust