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Section 1 Forces Shape Earth 1

The document discusses the forces that shape the Earth's continental crust through plate tectonics, detailing three types of stress: tension, compression, and shearing. Each type of stress leads to the formation of various landforms, such as mountain ranges, ocean trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and fault zones. The document also distinguishes between elastic and plastic strain in rocks, explaining how stress can lead to temporary or permanent changes in their shape.

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Worrel Thomas
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33 views2 pages

Section 1 Forces Shape Earth 1

The document discusses the forces that shape the Earth's continental crust through plate tectonics, detailing three types of stress: tension, compression, and shearing. Each type of stress leads to the formation of various landforms, such as mountain ranges, ocean trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and fault zones. The document also distinguishes between elastic and plastic strain in rocks, explaining how stress can lead to temporary or permanent changes in their shape.

Uploaded by

Worrel Thomas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Forces that Shape the Earth

Section 1: Forces that Shape the Earth

The continental crust is constantly


changing due to plate tectonics. Forces
at plate boundaries are strong enough to
break rocks or change their
shape. Stress is the force that acts on
a rock to change its shape or volume; it
adds potential or stored energy to the
rock until it changes shape or
breaks. Three different kinds of stress
can occur in the crust. First, tension
pulls on the crust, stretching rock so
that it becomes thinner in the
middle. Compression squeezes rock until
it folds or breaks. Finally, shearing
pushes a mass of rock in two opposite
directions. Strain is a change in a rock's
shape caused by stress.
Elastic strain is a change in rock that is NOT permanent. When the stress is
removed, the rock returns to its original shape. Plastic strain creates a permanent
change in the shape of a rock. It usually occurs when rocks are weak or hot.

Each type of stress can produce different types of landforms. Landforms created
by compression include mountain ranges, ocean trenches, and volcanic arcs. Mountain
ranges form when there is a collision of two continental plates. Ocean trenches
form as one plate goes under another plate during the collision, creating a deep
trench where the two plates meet. Volcanic arcs are curved lines of volcanoes that
form parallel to plate boundaries.

Landforms created by tension include mid-ocean ridges and continental rifts. A


mid-ocean ridge forms when the tension causes the oceanic crust to spread,
allowing hot rock from the mantle to rise, creating high ridges. A continental rift
forms when divergent boundaries cause an enormous split in the crust.
Landforms created by shearing include transform faults and fault zones. A
transform fault occurs when plates slide horizontally past each other. They form a
fault or a break in the rock of the crust. Fault zones are areas of many fractured
pieces of crust along a large fault.

© Nitty Gritty Science


Forces that Shape the Earth

Section 1: Forces that Shape the Earth

Review:
1. Identify the three different types of stress.
2. How do ocean trenches form?
3. What is a fault zone?

© Nitty Gritty Science

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