10 Questions
What is a fault?
A fracture in rocks that make up Earth's crust
What is the major cause of the slow, constant motion of tectonic plates?
Convection currents underneath Earth's surface
Which term refers to the block of rock on one side of a fault known as the hanging wall?
Footwall
How do normal faults, reverse faults, and strike-slip faults differ?
In the direction of hanging wall movement
What happens at a plate boundary?
Interaction between two tectonic plates
What type of stress causes a normal fault to form?
Tensional stress
Which type of fault forms at convergent boundaries?
Reverse fault
What direction does the hanging wall move in a reverse fault?
Upward
Which type of stress causes a strike-slip fault to form?
Shear stress
What type of boundary is associated with the formation of strike-slip faults?
Transform boundary
Study Notes
Earth's Crust and Tectonic Plates
- Earth's crust is made up of giant slabs of rock in the lithosphere
- There are 7 major tectonic plates: African, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indo-Australian, North American, Pacific, and South American
- Minor tectonic plates also exist
- These plates are in constant motion due to convection currents underneath Earth's surface
- The place where two tectonic plates meet is a plate boundary
Faults
- A fault is a fracture in the rocks that make up Earth's crust
- There are three types of faults: normal faults, reverse faults, and strike-slip faults
- A fault has a hanging wall on one side and a footwall on the other side
Causes of Faults
- Faults are caused by stress, which is formed by pressure between two blocks of rock
- There are three types of stress: compressional, shear, and tensional stress
- Compressional stress occurs when two blocks of rock push toward each other
- Shear stress occurs when two blocks of rock slide past each other
- Tensional stress occurs when two blocks of rock move away from each other
Types of Faults
- Normal faults occur when two blocks of rock move away from each other (tensional stress)
- Reverse faults occur when two blocks of rock push against each other (compressional stress)
- Strike-slip faults occur when two blocks of rock slide past each other (shear stress)
- Normal faults form at divergent boundaries, reverse faults form at convergent boundaries, and strike-slip faults form at transform boundaries
Test your knowledge about Earth's tectonic plates and fault lines in this quiz. Learn about the different major and minor tectonic plates that make up Earth's crust and how they interact with each other.
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