Which is responsible for the movement of large plates and formation of volcanoes?(1 point) Responses magnetic energy magnetic energy mechanical energy mechanical energy electrical energy electrical energy thermal energy
The movement of large plates and formation of volcanoes is primarily responsible due to the mechanical energy generated by the movement of tectonic plates.
The movement of large plates and the formation of volcanoes are primarily caused by mechanical energy.
The correct answer is: mechanical energy.
To understand why, we need to know that the movement of large plates on the Earth's surface is known as plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is driven by forces within the Earth's crust, and the primary force responsible for plate motion is convection in the Earth's mantle.
Convection in the mantle is driven by thermal energy, which comes from the Earth's core. The core generates heat through radioactive decay and residual heat from the planet's formation. This thermal energy causes the mantle material to become hot and buoyant, leading to convection currents.
These convection currents in the mantle push against the rigid lithosphere, which is made up of the Earth's crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. The lithosphere is broken into several huge plates that float on the underlying semi-fluid asthenosphere, a layer in the upper mantle. As the convection currents move, they drag and push the plates on the Earth's surface, causing them to slide, separate, or collide with each other.
The movement of these plates leads to various geological phenomena, such as the formation of mountains, the creation of trenches, and even the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Volcanoes are formed when tectonic plates interact with each other. When two plates move apart, magma from the mantle can rise and fill the gap, creating new oceanic crust and underwater volcanic activity. When one plate subducts (dives beneath) another, the descending plate can melt and generate volcanic activity as the magma rises to the surface.
So, in summary, the movement of large plates and the formation of volcanoes are primarily driven by the mechanical energy resulting from convection currents in the Earth's mantle.