Answer :
Final answer:
The speed of motion of the Pacific plate relative to the North American plate is 5 cm/year. Between 7.2 million years ago and 4.7 million years ago, the Pacific plate moved a distance of 12.5 million cm (or 125 km) between the formation of Kauai and Nihoa.
Explanation:
The speed of motion of the Pacific plate relative to the North American plate is 5 cm/year. That's 500 cm (or 5 m) per century. To calculate its speed between 7.2 million years ago and 4.7 million years ago, we need to find the time difference. So, the time from 7.2 million years ago to 4.7 million years ago is 2.5 million years.
Now, to calculate the distance moved in this time period, we can multiply the speed (5 cm/year) by the time (2.5 million years):
Distance moved = Speed x Time = 5 cm/year x 2.5 million years = 12.5 million cm (or 125 km)
Therefore, the Pacific plate moved a distance of 12.5 million cm (or 125 km) from 7.2 million years ago to 4.7 million years ago between the formation of Kauai and Nihoa.
