why soft rocks form folds while hard rocks form faults
Answers
Answer: Here is the explanation.
Explanation:
When tectonic plates exert force and pressure upon soft rocks, instead of fracture, they are folded. It can be visualised by an example: suppose we have a green stem or stick, and when we try to break it , instead of breakage it is deformed due to its softness.
Hard rocks have no space for deformities. Once the stress and pressure exerted over them increases more than they can tolerate, the fracture occurs and faults are formed.
When the material is soft then any form of deformation will result in folds. On the other hand when the crust of rock is hard then stress and pressure cause the rocks to shear in places that are weak and these are called faults.
EXPLANATION:
When the rocks are soft then under stress and pressure the rocks change shape due to compression of forces which are applied slowly and they crumble as folds. These are normally found in rocks which contain a number of layers. The rocks which are hard develop faults in them, when extreme pressure and stress is applied to them.