Construct an explanation in 3-5 sentences describing the gradual process of plate tectonics accounting for

Question

A) the distribution of fossils on different continents,
B) the occurrence of earthquakes, and
C) continental and ocean floor features (including mountains, volcanoes, faults, and trenches).

Answer 1

Plate tectonics is the theory that explains the movement of the Earth's lithospheric plates over the semi-fluid asthenosphere, leading to the distribution of various geological features and phenomena. A) The theory accounts for the distribution of fossils on different continents, as similar species found on widely separated landmasses, like lungfish and Glossopteris, suggest these continents were once connected (Pangaea) before drifting apart. B) Earthquakes primarily occur along plate boundaries where plates interact—either colliding, sliding past, or separating from each other—resulting in the buildup and release of stress along faults. C) The movement of tectonic plates shapes continental and ocean floor features, creating mountains through collision (orogeny), forming volcanoes at divergent and convergent boundaries, and generating deep ocean trenches where one plate subducts beneath another.