Tectonic Plates

Question	Answer
Continental crust is...	... thicker and less dense
Oceanic crust is...	... thinner and more dense
Why do tectonic plates shift?	Because the rock in the mantle underneath them is moving
What are 'boundaries' or 'plate margins'?	Locations where plates meet
Name the three types of plate margins.	1) Destructive margins 2) Constructive margins 3) Conservative margins
What is a Destructive margin and give an example.	Destructive margins are where two plates are moving towards each other, e.g along the east coast of Japan
What happens when a Destructive oceanic plate meets a continental plate?	The denser oceanic plate is forced down into the mantle and destroyed.
What is created by a Destructive oceanic plate meeting a continental plate?	Volcanoes and oceanic trenches
What happens when two Destructive continental plates meet?	They smash together, but no crust is destroyed
What is a Constructive margin and give an example.	Where two plates are moving away from each other, e.g at the mid-Atlantic ridge
What happens when Constructive margins move away from each other?	Magma rises from the mantle and it fills the gap, cooling to form new crust
What is a Conservative margin and and give an example.	Where two plates are moving sideways past each other, or moving in the same direction but at different speeds, e.g the west coast of the USA
What does a Conservative margin do the the crust?	Nothing, crust isn't created or destroyed

Resource summary

	Created by Adam Collinge about 10 years ago