Question 1

What are tectonic plates?

Accepted Answer

Massive pieces of the Earth's crust that slowly move around over millions of years

(form different types of boundaries)

Question 2

What happens at a convergent boundary?

Accepted Answer

Two tectonic plates are moving toward each other, resulting in subduction

Question 3

What is subduction?

Accepted Answer

When one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate

(the denser plate goes downwards)

Question 4

What structures form between two oceanic plates at a convergent boundary?

Accepted Answer

Island arcs, oceanic trenches, and volcanoes

Question 5

What structures form between a continental and oceanic plate at a convergent boundary?

Accepted Answer

Mountains and volcanoes

Question 6

What is an island arc?

Accepted Answer

A curved chain of volcanic islands created by the subduction of oceanic plates

(occurs at convergent boundaries)

Question 7

What is an oceanic trench?

Accepted Answer

A deep, long depression in the ocean floor created by the subduction of oceanic plates

(occurs at convergent boundaries)

Question 8

What is seafloor spreading?

Accepted Answer

The formation of new oceanic crust as a result of new magma rising up at a divergent boundary

Question 9

What happens at a divergent boundary?

Accepted Answer

Two tectonic plates move apart from each other

(can result in seafloor spreading, rift valleys, volcanoes, and earthquakes)

Question 10

What happens at a transform boundary?

Accepted Answer

Two plates slide past each other, creating friction and energy

(an earthquake occurs when this energy is released quickly; e.g., San Andreas Fault)

Question 11

How can earthquakes occur at a transform boundary?

Accepted Answer

An earthquake occurs when stress overcomes a locked fault, releasing stored energy

4.1 Tectonic Plates, AP Environmental Science Flashcards