Question

Which of the following contributes to the movement of tectonic plates?

Deposition of sediment on the ocean floor
Push of newly formed crust
Mantle convection
I only
III only
I and II
II and III

Answer 1

The answer is H: II and III

Step-by-step explanation:

Tectonic plates are any of several large pieces of the Earth's lithosphere which participate in plate tectonics.

Plate tectonics is a theory of global tectonics in which the lithosphere is divided into a number of crustal plates, each of which moves on the plastic asthenosphere more or less independently to collide with, slide under, or move past adjacent plates.

Deposition is removal from an office or position. Sediment is the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs.

Convection is the transfer of heat by the circulation or movement of the heated parts of a liquid or gas. The vertical transport of atmospheric properties, especially upward (distinguished from advection).

Tectonic plates move due to two main factors:

1) Push of newly formed crust:

At mid-ocean ridges, rock from the mantle rises up into the crust and hardens into new oceanic crust. As new crust is continually formed, it pushes the existing plates apart. This is known as sea-floor spreading.

2) Mantle convection:

Convection currents in the mantle cause the tectonic plates to move. As mantle rock heats up, it rises and cools, sinking back into the mantle at subduction zones. This cycling of material drives plate motions.

These two factors - new crust being formed at mid-ocean ridges and convection in the mantle - are the primary forces behind the movement of tectonic plates.

Deposition of sediment on the ocean floor (Option I) is not a direct cause of plate motions, though it can influence plate interactions at certain plate boundaries over long timescales.

So the two options that directly contribute to tectonic plate movement are:

II: Push of newly formed crust

III: Mantle convection

Therefore, the correct answer is H: II and III

In summary, tectonic plates move because new oceanic crust is continually being produced at ridges and mantle convection cycles material into and out of subduction zones. deposition of sediment, while it can influence plate interactions, does not directly cause plate motions.