Question

The diagram below shows the locations of some of the major plates that make up the Earth's lithosphere. Each plate is represented by a different color. The black lines are plate boundaries. Red arrows show which way the plates are moving. Which arrows show that a mid-ocean ridge is likely to be found at that boundary?

Answer 1

Two couples of arrows show that a mid-ocean ridge is likely to be found:

the couple Pacific plate - Nazca plate

and the couple Nazca plate - Cocos plate

Step-by-step explanation:

Mid-ocean ridges, as the name suggests, are elevated regions on an ocean floor that appear where two tectonic plates are slowly moving apart from each other. The distancing between the plates forms a valley between them from which lava can come up, which helps form a mountain-like structure.

As we can see in the picture, the Pacific and Nazca plates as well as the Cocos and Nazca plates have divergent boundaries, meaning they are moving away from one another. Therefore, the arrows between those two couples of plates indicate a likelihood of finding mid-ocean ridges.