Question

vThe mantle is a layer of the Earth's interior. It lies just below the outer crust and is made up of solid and liquid materials. The mantle is very hot, and heat traveling from the mantle is believed by many scientists to be one of the driving forces behind the movement of Earth's crustal plates.


Image courtesy of the USGS

The movement of Earth materials through the mantle and toward the crust due to heat transfer is an example of _______.
A.
condensation
B.
evaporation
C.
convection
D.
radiation

Answer 1

C. convection

Heat from the mantle causes hot, less-dense rock to rise and cooler, denser rock to sink, producing convection currents that move material and drive plate motion. Condensation and evaporation are phase changes of water; radiation is heat transfer by electromagnetic waves, not bulk material movement.