Stress in the Crust
Earthquakes and other powerful forces created by plates are examples of stress. Stress is the force that acts on a rock to change its shape or volume. Stress adds energy to a rock because it's a force. Earth's plates create powerful forces by pushing and/or pulling the rocks in the crust.
Types of Stress
There are three different types of stress that occur in the crust - shearing, tension and compression. These forces causes some rocks to become brittle and snap. One type of stress is shearing, shearing is a stress that pushes a mass of rock into two opposite directions. It can cause a rock to break or change shape. Another type of stress is tension, tension is a stress force that stretches rock in the crust so that it becomes thinner. Tension occurs when two plates are moving apart. The third type of stress is compression. Compression squeezes rock until it breaks or folds. A real world example of compression is like a giant trash compactor. It happens when one plate is pushing against another. The last example of stress is deformation. Most changes in the crust happens so slowly that it can not be observed directly. These are some types of stress observed in the crust.
Earthquakes and other powerful forces created by plates are examples of stress. Stress is the force that acts on a rock to change its shape or volume. Stress adds energy to a rock because it's a force. Earth's plates create powerful forces by pushing and/or pulling the rocks in the crust.
Types of Stress
There are three different types of stress that occur in the crust - shearing, tension and compression. These forces causes some rocks to become brittle and snap. One type of stress is shearing, shearing is a stress that pushes a mass of rock into two opposite directions. It can cause a rock to break or change shape. Another type of stress is tension, tension is a stress force that stretches rock in the crust so that it becomes thinner. Tension occurs when two plates are moving apart. The third type of stress is compression. Compression squeezes rock until it breaks or folds. A real world example of compression is like a giant trash compactor. It happens when one plate is pushing against another. The last example of stress is deformation. Most changes in the crust happens so slowly that it can not be observed directly. These are some types of stress observed in the crust.