Which term describes the movement of Earth's lithospheric plates?

• A. Plate Tectonics
• B. Deposition
• C. Dust Bowl
• D. Free Enterprise System

Answer: (A)

Plate tectonics explains the movement of Earth's lithospheric plates. The outer shell is broken into several rigid plates that glide atop the partially molten mantle beneath. Heat-driven convection currents in the mantle push and pull these plates, causing them to separate, collide, or slide past one another at plate boundaries. The interactions at these boundaries produce many geological features and events, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges, and also explain why continents drift and why new ocean floor forms at spreading centers. The other terms don’t describe this large-scale, dynamic movement: deposition relates to sediment settling, the Dust Bowl refers to a historical environmental disaster, and the Free Enterprise System is an economic concept.