Which statement correctly describes why earthquakes happen?(1 point) Responses Earth’s crust near magma melts, and the ground collapses. Earth’s crust near magma melts, and the ground collapses. Earth’s crust switches places in a periodic manner. Earth’s crust switches places in a periodic manner. Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault. Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault. Earth’s crust undergoes a cycle from a solid material to magma.

Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault.

The correct statement is: Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault.

The statement that correctly describes why earthquakes happen is: "Earth’s crust suddenly slips along a fault."

To understand why this happens, let's take a closer look at the process.

1. Earth's Crust: The Earth's outermost layer is called the crust, which is composed of various solid rock materials.

2. Faults: Within the crust, there are areas of weakness where two tectonic plates meet. These meeting points are called faults. Tectonic plates are huge sections of the Earth's crust that float on the semi-fluid layer called the asthenosphere.

3. Plate Tectonics: The Earth's crust is divided into several large plates that are constantly moving. These movements are a result of the driving forces from the heat generated within the Earth.

4. Build-up of Stress: As these tectonic plates move, sometimes they become locked along the fault. This causes stress to build up within the rocks on either side of the fault.

5. Release of Stress: When the accumulated stress along the fault becomes too great, the rocks suddenly slip, causing an earthquake. During this slip, the energy stored in the rocks is released in the form of seismic waves, which is what we feel as an earthquake.

Therefore, earthquakes occur when the Earth's crust suddenly slips along a fault due to the accumulated stress from the movement of tectonic plates.