The main difference between plate tectonics and continental drift is that plate tectonics describes the features and movement of Earth’s surface in the present and in the past whereas continental drift describes the drifting of Earth’s continents on the ocean bed.
What is the difference between continental drift and plate tectonics quizlet?
What are the differences between Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics? Continental drift believes that the continents moved because the magnetism of the sea floor . Plate tectonics believes that the lithosphere & the asthenosphere of the continents caused them to move.
What does the continental drift theory and the plate tectonics theory have in common?
Plate tectonics is Wegener theory of continental drift reworked. The force needed to move the continents is proposed to be convection currents in the mantle . ... The continents are seen as part of large plates of crust that are moved by the convection currents in the mantle.
What is the difference between continents and tectonic plates?
The continents are embedded in the plates. Many continents occur in the middles of plates, not at their boundaries or edges. ... Plates are composed of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, which are collectively called the lithosphere. This layer is like an eggshell compared to the total thickness of the Earth.
How do plate tectonics support continental drift?
The crust is broken up into giant tectonic plates that ride atop the magma, hot melted-rock material that makes up much of the interior of the Earth. Over millions of years, the continents drift into new configurations. Convection in the molten rock of Earth’s mantle drives the movement of the plates.
What is not explained by the plate tectonic theory?
Plate tectonics cannot explain dynamics of Earth and crust formation more than three billion years ago . ... “Using radiometric dating, one can observe that Earth’s oldest continents were created in geodynamic environments which were markedly different than current environments characterised by plate tectonics.
What is the difference between continental drift theory and seafloor spreading?
Seafloor spreading disproves an early part of the theory of continental drift. Supporters of continental drift originally theorized that the continents moved (drifted) through unmoving oceans. Seafloor spreading proves that the ocean itself is a site of tectonic activity.
What is continental drift theory explain?
Continental drift was a revolutionary theory explaining that continents shift position on Earth’s surface . ... He proposed that Earth must have once been a single supercontinent before breaking up to form several different continents.
What is continental drift theory and what are the evidences that support it?
In the early part of the 20th century, scientists began to put together evidence that the continents could move around on Earth’s surface . The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.
What is the difference between plate tectonics and plate boundaries?
The difference between plate tectonics and plate boundaries is that one is a scientific theory while the other is a physical property of tectonic ...
Does the theory of the plate tectonics explain where volcanoes are located and why they are located in those places?
The theory of plate tectonics explains most of the features of Earth’s surface . It explains why earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain ranges are where they are. It explains where to find some mineral resources. Plate tectonics is the key that unlocks many of the mysteries of our amazing planet.
Why is the plate tectonic theory a theory?
Plate tectonics is a theory because it provides an explanation of why and how segments of the earth move and cause earthquakes and mountains and volcanos .
Why is plate tectonics a theory and not just a hypothesis?
The plate movements first proposed under the theory of continental drift hypothesis rapid and sudden massive movements of the continents in the past. ... Because Plate Tectonics explains things it is a theory, Because it does not provide a means of calculation precisely when and where the plates will move it is not a law .
What is the difference between continental drift?
The main difference between plate tectonics and continental drift is that plate tectonics describes the features and movement of Earth’s surface in the present and in the past whereas continental drift describes the drifting of Earth’s continents on the ocean bed .
What is the difference between continental drift and sea floor spreading quizlet?
Continental drift is a hypothesis that suggests that earth’s continents move over time . Seafloor spreading is a theory that states that new ocean crust forms along mid-ocean ridges.
What are the two theories of continental drift theory and seafloor spreading theory?
Tuzo Wilson, combined the continental drift and seafloor spreading hypotheses to propose the theory of plate tectonics . Tuzo said that Earth’s crust, or lithosphere, was divided into large, rigid pieces called plates.
Is plate tectonic?
A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock , generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest.
What are the 4 evidence of continental drift?
The four pieces of evidence for the continental drift include continents fitting together like a puzzle, scattering ancient fossils, rocks, mountain ranges, and the old climatic zones’ locations .
What are the two tectonic plates called?
There are two main types of tectonic plates: oceanic and continental . Oceanic – Oceanic plates consist of an oceanic crust called “sima”. Sima is made up primarily of silicon and magnesium (which is where it gets its name). Continental – Continental plates consist of a continental crust called “sial”.
Who proposed the plate tectonic theory?
German meteorologist Alfred Wegener is often credited as the first to develop a theory of plate tectonics, in the form of continental drift.
What are the 5 evidences of continental drift?
They based their idea of continental drift on several lines of evidence: fit of the continents, paleoclimate indicators, truncated geologic features, and fossils .
What is continental drift theory class 9?
The theory of continental drift points out that the Earth’s continents are constantly drifting away from each other . According to this theory: ... The earth’s crust is made of up of many sections called tectonic plates.
How plate tectonics explain volcanoes?
On land, volcanoes form when one tectonic plate moves under another . Usually a thin, heavy oceanic plate subducts, or moves under, a thicker continental plate. ... When enough magma builds up in the magma chamber, it forces its way up to the surface and erupts, often causing volcanic eruptions.
Where are the volcanoes located and distributed in each continents?
Volcanoes are not randomly distributed over the Earth’s surface. Most are concentrated on the edges of continents , along island chains, or beneath the sea forming long mountain ranges.
How does plate tectonic theory explain the distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes?
Where plates come into contact, energy is released. Plates sliding past each other cause friction and heat. Subducting plates melt into the mantle, and diverging plates create new crust material. Subducting plates, where one tectonic plate is being driven under another , are associated with volcanoes and earthquakes.
