Question

Mountains are formed by:

a. Movement of glaciers across the earth
b. Sudden movement of plates along a fault line
c. All of the above are true.
d. The breaking down of rocks on Earth’s surface into smaller pieces
e. Colliding continental plates

Answer 1

Mountains are formed by colliding continental plates or the movement of plates along fault lines; glacial movement sculpts mountains post-formation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Mountains are predominantly formed by colliding continental plates and tectonic activity. When two continental masses are on a collision course, they apply great pressure against each other, leading to the buckling and folding of the Earth. Notable examples include the Alps, which arose from the collision of the African and Eurasian plates. However, the movement of glaciers, known as glaciation, does not create mountains; it rather sculpts them post-formation through erosion. Another mountains-forming process is the sudden movement of plates along a fault line, causing uplift and forming mountain ranges like the Himalayas.

Therefore, the answer to the student's question is that mountains are formed by either the sudden movement of plates along a fault line (option b), or colliding continental plates (option e). Hence, the correct answer is option c: All of the above are true, as both b and e are processes that contribute to mountain formation.