Plate Basics
What is a tectonic plate?
A large piece of Earth's crust that moves.
Plates moving apart form what boundary?
Divergent boundary
What natural disaster is caused by sudden plate movement?
Earthquake
What plate is North America on?
North American Plate
How many major tectonic plates are there?
About 7
What layer do tectonic plates float on?
The mantle (asthenosphere)
Plates crashing together form what boundary?
Convergent boundary
What forms when magma reaches Earth's surface?
Volcanoes
What plate is South America in?
South American Plate
What supercontinent existed millions of years ago?
Pangea
How fast do plates move?
A few centimeters per year
Plates sliding past eachother create what boundary?
Transform boundaries
Along plate boundaries
What plate is Egypt on?
African Plate
What ocean is shrinking due to plate movement?
Pacific Ocean
What is the theory that explains plate movement?
Plate tectonics
What can form at convergent boundaries?
Mountains or volcanoes
What scale measures earthquake strength?
Richter scale
What plate is the largest on Earth?
Pacific Plate
What ocean is growing because of plate movement?
Atlantic Ocean
What causes plates to move?
Heat and convection currents in the mantle
What forms at divergent boundaries in the ocean?
Mid-ocean ridges
What is molet rock called under Earth's surface?
Magma
What plate is India a part of?
Indo-Australian Plate
What is the Ring of Fire?
A volcanic and earthquake zone around the Pacific