Plate tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=tectonics&did=1482" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1482,'tectonics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">tectonics is the scientific theory that describes the large-scale tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=motions&did=1088" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1088,'motion');return false;" style="color:#009000;">motions of tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=earth%27s&did=771" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,771,'earth');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Earth'stectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=lithosphere&did=1241" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1241,'lithosphere');return false;" style="color:#009000;">lithosphere. The tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=lithosphere&did=1241" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1241,'lithosphere');return false;" style="color:#009000;">lithosphere is divided into several large and small tectonic plates that move over the semi-fluid asthenosphere beneath them. This movement is responsible for various geological phenomena such as tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=earthquakes&did=1377" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1377,'earthquakes');return false;" style="color:#009000;">earthquakes, tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=volcanic+activity&did=794" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,794,'volcanic activity');return false;" style="color:#009000;">volcanic activity, and the formation of tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=mountain&did=1756" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1756,'mountain');return false;" style="color:#009000;">mountain ranges.
Key Concepts
Tectonic Plates: These are large and small pieces of the tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=earth%27s&did=771" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,771,'earth');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Earth'stectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=lithosphere&did=1241" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1241,'lithosphere');return false;" style="color:#009000;">lithosphere that move and interact with each other. The major tectonic plates include the Pacific Plate, North American Plate, Eurasian Plate, African Plate, South American Plate, tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=antarctic&did=1744" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1744,'antarctic');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Antarctic Plate, and Indo-Australian Plate.
tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=plate+boundaries&did=1242" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1242,'plate boundaries');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Plate Boundaries: These are the regions where tectonic plates meet and interact. There are three main types of tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=plate+boundaries&did=1242" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1242,'plate boundaries');return false;" style="color:#009000;">plate boundaries: divergent boundaries, convergent boundaries, and transform boundaries.
tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=geological+features&did=1705" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1705,'geological features');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Geological Features: Plate tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=tectonics&did=1482" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1482,'tectonics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">tectonics is responsible for the formation of various tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=geological+features&did=1705" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1705,'geological features');return false;" style="color:#009000;">geological features such as tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=mountains&did=1258" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1258,'mountains');return false;" style="color:#009000;">mountains, tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=ocean&did=1322" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1322,'ocean');return false;" style="color:#009000;">ocean trenches, volcanic arcs, and mid-tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=ocean&did=1322" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1322,'ocean');return false;" style="color:#009000;">ocean ridges.
tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=earthquakes&did=1377" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1377,'earthquakes');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Earthquakes and tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=volcanoes&did=1438" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1438,'volcanoes');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Volcanoes: The movement and interaction of tectonic plates result in seismic activity and tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=volcanic+eruptions&did=1786" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1786,'volcanic eruptions');return false;" style="color:#009000;">volcanic eruptions along the tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=plate+boundaries&did=1242" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1242,'plate boundaries');return false;" style="color:#009000;">plate boundaries.
Study Guide
To understand plate tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=tectonics&did=1482" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1482,'tectonics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">tectonics, it's important to grasp the following key points:
What are tectonic plates and how do they move?
What are the different types of tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=plate+boundaries&did=1242" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1242,'plate boundaries');return false;" style="color:#009000;">plate boundaries and what tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=geological+features&did=1705" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1705,'geological features');return false;" style="color:#009000;">geological features are associated with each type?
How do tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=earthquakes&did=1377" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1377,'earthquakes');return false;" style="color:#009000;">earthquakes and tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=volcanic+eruptions&did=1786" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1786,'volcanic eruptions');return false;" style="color:#009000;">volcanic eruptions relate to plate tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=tectonics&did=1482" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1482,'tectonics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">tectonics?
What evidence supports the theory of plate tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=tectonics&did=1482" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1482,'tectonics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">tectonics?
Studying maps of tectonic tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=plate+boundaries&did=1242" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1242,'plate boundaries');return false;" style="color:#009000;">plate boundaries, watching animations of plate movements, and examining geological cross-sections can all help in visualizing the concepts related to plate tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=tectonics&did=1482" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1482,'tectonics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">tectonics.
Understanding plate tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=tectonics&did=1482" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1482,'tectonics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">tectonics is crucial for understanding the tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=earth%27s&did=771" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,771,'earth');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Earth's dynamic processes and the distribution of geological hazards. It provides a framework for explaining major geological events and shaping the tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=earth%27s+surface&did=811" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,811,'earth\'s surface');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Earth's surface over millions of tectonics-2031/alabama-common-core-standards?dictionary=years&did=1308" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1308,'year');return false;" style="color:#009000;">years.
[Plate Tectonics] Related Worksheets and Study Guides:
Use evidence to explain how different geologic processes shape Earth’s history over widely varying scales of space and time (e.g., chemical and physical erosion; tectonic plate processes; volcanic eruptions; meteor impacts; regional geographical features, including Alabama fault lines, Rickwood Caverns, and Wetumpka Impact Crater).
Provide evidence from data of the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to explain past plate motions.
Use models to explain how the flow of Earth’s internal energy drives a cycling of matter between Earth’s surface and deep interior causing plate movements (e.g., mid-ocean ridges, ocean trenches, volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, rift valleys, volcanic islands).