Question

Multiple choice: Which of these best describes how the theory of plate tectonics explains the formation of a deep-sea trench?

a) oceanic plates are diverging

b) a plate is moving over a hot spot in the mantle

c) continental plates are converging

d) an oceanic and continental plate are converging

Answer 1

D. Oceanic and continental plate are converging

Step-by-step explanation:

Trenches are formed when two tectonic plates converge (move towards each other), specifically, when an oceanic plate and a continental plate converge. The oceanic plate is denser and heavier than the continental plate and when they converge, the oceanic plate is pushed under the continental plate. The plate bends beneath the lighter plate and it creates that v-shaped depression. This process where one plate goes beneath the other is called subduction and the boundary where they collide is called a subduction zone.