Multiple choice

Which of the following factors leads to the movement of earth's crustal plates?

  1. Variation in pressure in different layers of the earth's interior.

  2. Radioactive decay in the core of the earth.

  3. Convectional current that occurs in the crust.

  4. The earth's interior.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This is a tricky question. Most of the students may wrongly mark option 3 as their answer, but it should be noted that convectional currents occur in the mantle, and not in the crust.

The movement of the earth's crustal plates is believed to be due to convection currents which occur in the semi-molten mantle. These convection currents are created by heat from within the earth - much of which is generated by radioactive decay in the core. 

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