Answer:
According to the elastic rebound theory, earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy that is stored in rocks when they deform and then "snap" back to their original undeformed shape. This stored energy builds up over time as the tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust move past each other, creating frictional forces that resist their motion. As the plates continue to move, the forces build up until they exceed the strength of the rocks holding them in place, causing them to suddenly fracture and move past each other along a fault. This sudden movement of the rocks generates seismic waves that propagate through the Earth, causing the ground to shake and resulting in an earthquake.
Step-by-step explanation: