What are tectonic plates easy definition for kids?
Tectonic plates are broken pieces made of the Earth’s crust or lithosphere. Another name for them is crustal plates. Continental crust is less dense, and oceanic crust is denser. These rigid plates can move in different directions, shifting constantly.
What are the 4 movements of tectonic plates?
What are the major plate tectonic boundaries?
- Divergent: extensional; the plates move apart. Spreading ridges, basin-range.
- Convergent: compressional; plates move toward each other. Includes: Subduction zones and mountain building.
- Transform: shearing; plates slide past each other. Strike-slip motion.
What are the 3 possible movements of tectonic plates?
Most seismic activity occurs at three types of plate boundaries—divergent, convergent, and transform. As the plates move past each other, they sometimes get caught and pressure builds up.
How are the tectonic plates moving for kids?
These plates move because of heat from Earth’s core. Earth’s radioactive core generates an immense amount of heat that keeps our planet from completely cooling over. Less dense molten rock travels from the core to the surface, where it then cools and returns—a process called convection.
How do plate tectonics move?
Convection currents drive the movement of Earth’s rigid tectonic plates in the planet’s fluid molten mantle. In places where convection currents rise up towards the crust’s surface, tectonic plates move away from each other in a process known as seafloor spreading (Fig. 7.21).
How do plates move?
The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.
What are the different types of plate movements?
There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries. This image shows the three main types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. Image courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. Download image (jpg, 76 KB).
What are 5 facts about plate tectonics?
Tectonic Plate Facts for Kids
- There are seven major tectonic plates.
- There are 3 types of tectonic plate movement Divergent, Convergent, and Transform.
- Juan de Fuca Plate is the smallest of Earth’s tectonic plates.
- Tectonic plates moving can cause tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
How did the continents move for kids?
Continental Drift The plates have moved across Earth’s surface for hundreds of millions of years. As the plates move, the continents on them move, too. This movement is called continental drift.