Which boundary involves tectonic plates pulling apart and forms new crust and ridges?

Which boundary involves tectonic plates pulling apart and forms new crust and ridges?

• A. Divergent Boundary
• B. Transform Boundary
• C. Convergent Boundary
• D. Subduction Zone

Answer: (A)

When plates pull apart, new crust is created. As the gap opens, magma from the mantle rises into the space, cools, and solidifies, forming new lithosphere and often creating mid-ocean ridges or continental rift zones. This continuous addition of new material is what defines a boundary where crust is being generated, a divergent boundary. In contrast, transform boundaries involve plates sliding past one another with little or no creation of new crust, and convergent boundaries involve collision—sometimes causing one plate to subduct beneath another, forming trenches and volcanoes or pushing up mountains. Subduction zones are a type of convergent boundary where one plate sinks into the mantle.

When plates pull apart, new crust is created. As the gap opens, magma from the mantle rises into the space, cools, and solidifies, forming new lithosphere and often creating mid-ocean ridges or continental rift zones. This continuous addition of new material is what defines a boundary where crust is being generated, a divergent boundary.

In contrast, transform boundaries involve plates sliding past one another with little or no creation of new crust, and convergent boundaries involve collision—sometimes causing one plate to subduct beneath another, forming trenches and volcanoes or pushing up mountains. Subduction zones are a type of convergent boundary where one plate sinks into the mantle.