Author Question: Explain how the rock cycle relates to the theory of plate tectonics. What will be an ideal ... (Read 58 times)

evelyn o bentley · **on:** Jul 15, 2018

Explain how the rock cycle relates to the theory of plate tectonics. What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What would the world be like if plate tectonics was not happening? What will be an ideal response?

aliotak · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 15, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Igneous rocks originate wherever melting occurs, primarily at or near divergent and convergent plate
boundaries and at hot spots. Mountain ranges form at convergent plate boundaries and, as elevated
areas, undergo concentrated erosion, thus becoming regions that shed sediment into adjacent low
areas. This sediment tends to ultimately accumulate along continental margins or in shallow seas, and
there becomes sedimentary rock. Volcanoes are concentrated along plate boundaries or at hot spots,
and the heat from these bakes the surrounding rocks, producing metamorphic rocks. In addition,
directed pressure from plate convergence produces foliated metamorphic rocks.

Answer to Question 2

The absence of plate tectonics implies an absence of heat flow from the interior of the Earth. This, in
turn, implies a colder interior such as exists on Mars. There are several notable things that we have
here that are absent on Mars. These include our oceans, rivers, and streams, a biologically viable
atmosphere, significant mountain ranges, weathering, and erosion