Earth's interior has crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core.
Mantle convection drives the plates, and convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries build mountains, ridges, and quakes.
Most earthquakes and volcanoes sit at plate edges, and P and S waves reveal the interior.
Press the buttons to switch among the three boundary types and explore the landforms.
The inside of the Earth is crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core; only the outer core is liquid.
Example 2
What landforms are made at a boundary where two plates collide, and what is this boundary called?
1
A boundary where plates collide is called a convergent boundary.
2
At a convergent boundary the two plates collide to form mountains or trenches, and earthquakes and volcanoes occur.
▸ Mountains and trenches form / a convergent boundary
Convergent boundaries collide (mountains/trenches), divergent ones separate (ridges), and transform ones slide past (earthquakes).
Unit-test style
Which statement about tectonic activity is correct?
①The thickest layer of the Earth is the crust
②Mantle convection is the driving force that moves the plates
③The outer core is in a solid state
④At a divergent boundary, two plates collide
⑤Among seismic waves, the S wave arrives before the P wave
▸ ② Mantle convection is the driving force that moves the plates
1
Plates move due to the convection of the mantle, so ② is correct.
2
The thickest layer is the mantle (①), the outer core is liquid (③), at a divergent boundary plates separate (④), and the P wave arrives before the S wave (⑤).