Which statement about oceanic divergent boundaries is true?

Which statement about oceanic divergent boundaries is true?

• A. Usually located along coastlines.
• B. New oceanic crust is formed.
• C. They do not involve magma.
• D. They occur only at subduction zones.

Answer: (B)

Two oceanic plates moving apart create space for mantle material to rise and fill the gap. This upwelling magma then cools and solidifies to form new oceanic crust along the mid-ocean ridges. This continuous process, seafloor spreading, is exactly how new oceanic crust is formed at oceanic divergent boundaries, so the statement that new crust is formed is true.

These boundaries aren’t typically found along coastlines; they run through the centers of ocean basins (mid-ocean ridges). Magma is involved in the process, so the idea that magma isn’t involved is incorrect. And divergent boundaries are not restricted to subduction zones—subduction occurs at convergent boundaries, not divergence.