Putting it together
• You know that our Earth is
separated into moving plates
• You know that the continents are
drifting and colliding
• BUT HOW?
Convection Currents
• Cold air sinks, and hot air rises
Convection Currents
• Cold air sinks, and hot air rises
1) Hot magma rises and cold magma
sinks
2) This causes a spinning current
• Strong enough to move the lithosphere
3) Heating and cooling the rock causes
these movements
Ways the Plates Move
1. Ridge push – plate moves into the asthenosphere
because of gravity at a mid-ocean ridge
2. Convection currents – hot magma rises, while cooler
magma sinks
3. Slab pull – oceanic crust is more dense and pulls the rest
of the plate with it