What is tectonics? The changing shape of a planet's surface because of forces from inside.
What is stress? A force that pushes, pulls, or squeezes rocks.
What is a fault? A crack in rock where the rocks move past each other.
What is brittle deformation? When rocks break instead of bending.
What is ductile deformation? When rocks bend, stretch, or flow without breaking.
What is plate tectonics? The movement of large pieces of a planet's outer rocky layer.
What causes normal faults? Extension, which pulls rocks apart.
What causes thrust or reverse faults? Compression, which squeezes rocks together.
What causes strike-slip faults? Shear, which makes rocks slide sideways past each other.
What is a graben? A lowered block of land formed when the surface is pulled apart.
What is a rift? A long area where the surface is pulling apart.
What can happen when a rift keeps opening on Earth? It can eventually become an ocean.
How can thrust faults help create mountains? They push and stack rocks together, making the land higher.
What is a subduction zone? A place where denser oceanic rock sinks underneath less dense material.
What causes rocks to fold instead of break? Warm temperatures, high fluid pressure, or slow forces.