From the list below, insert words into the blanks to best complete the following paragraph. The earth's rocky surface is in constant motion. The theory of plate tectonics states that continents move as portions of larger coherent plates that are driven by motions in the underlying athenosphere . New ocean basins are created by rifting of continental crust that is slowly eroded and thinned by contraction. Slow but steady spreading of the seafloor is evident from magnetic reversals in rocks that form from magma as it cools.
Subduction refers to the sinking of oceanic crust when two plates collide.
A transform fault forms along the boundary of two plates that are moving sideways , and is an active site for earthquakes . The blue color of the sky is due to the scattering of solar radiation off air molecules. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy is conserved. Latent heat is the energy released when a substance changes state. Seasons are due to changes in the distance of earth's orbit about the sun.