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The hot rock deep in Earth's mantle flows upward slowly, while cooler rock near the surface sinks because hot materials are lighter than cool materials. The rising and sinking of materials due to differences in temperature is called convection. As Earth's mantle flows, it breaks the crust into a number of large slabs called tectonic plates, much as slabs of ice break apart on a pond. The slow flow of Earth's mantle drags the crust along, causing the continents to move, mountains to form, and volcanoes and earthquakes to occur. This constant motion of Earth's crust is called plate tectonics.

In some places, usually under the oceans, Earth's plates are spreading apart. New magma from the mantle rises to fill the cracks between the plates. Places where plates spread apart are called spreading centers. Many volcanoes occur where plates pull apart and magma wells up from within the mantle to fill the gap. The material from the mantle is made of iron and magnesium-rich silicate rocks. It hardens to form rocks and creates oceanic crust made of basalt.

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