Question

Continental drift vs seafloor spreading vs plate tectonics. What's the difference?

A. Continental drift is the movement of oceanic plates, seafloor spreading is the separation of continents, and plate tectonics is the process of continental collision.
B. Continental drift is the movement of continents, seafloor spreading is the creation of new oceanic crust, and plate tectonics is the theory that encompasses both processes.
C. Continental drift is the movement of tectonic plates, seafloor spreading is the drifting of continents, and plate tectonics is the movement of oceanic plates.
D. Continental drift, seafloor spreading, and plate tectonics all refer to the same geological process.

Answer 1

Plate tectonics is a theory that explains how Earth's crust moves and leads to the drifting of continents and the formation of geological features.

Step-by-step explanation:

Plate tectonics is a theory that explains how slow motions within the mantle of Earth move large segments of the crust, resulting in a gradual "drifting" of the continents as well as the formation of mountains and other large-scale geological features.

Plate tectonics is a concept as basic to geology as evolution by natural selection is to biology or gravity is to understanding the orbits of planets.

Looking at it from a different perspective, plate tectonics is a mechanism for Earth to transport heat efficiently from the interior, where it has accumulated, out to space. It is a cooling system for the planet. All planets develop a heat transfer process as they evolve; mechanisms may differ from that on Earth as a result of chemical makeup and other constraints.