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What happens when jagged edges of rock plates grind past each other?

a. a mountain
b. volcanic formation
c. an earthquake
d. subduction
pls help!!!

c

When jagged edges of rock plates grind past each other, the most likely outcome is an earthquake. An earthquake is a natural shaking of the Earth's surface caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust, usually occurring along faults where the rock plates meet.

To understand why this happens, it is important to know about tectonic plates. The Earth's surface is made up of several massive pieces of the Earth's lithosphere, known as tectonic plates. These plates constantly move and interact with each other. Where two plates meet, we have what is called a fault line or a fault zone.

When jagged edges of these rock plates interact, they can get stuck due to friction, preventing them from smoothly sliding past each other. As the plates continue to move, stress and pressure build up along the fault line. Eventually, the stress becomes too great and overcomes the friction, causing one side of the fault to slip suddenly, releasing a tremendous amount of energy. This sudden release of energy is what we experience as an earthquake.

So, in this case, the correct answer is c. an earthquake.

When the jagged edges of rock plates grind past each other, the most likely outcome is an earthquake (option c). This is because the interaction between tectonic plates along these boundaries can generate a significant amount of stress and pressure. As the plates move, the stress builds up and eventually releases in the form of an earthquake. The grinding motion along a fault line causes the rocks to slip and slide past each other, producing seismic waves that propagate through the Earth's crust, which we perceive as shaking. Sometimes, earthquakes can also trigger volcanic activity (option b), but the primary outcome of the described process is an earthquake. Formation of mountains (option a) or subduction (option d) occurs due to different geological processes and are not directly related to the grinding of rock plates.