Question 11 • 2026-27 AL-Earth and Space Science
As lava cools into ocean rock, iron-bearing minerals align with Earth’s magnetic field and preserve its direction. Because Earth’s magnetic poles have reversed over time, the rocks form alternating magnetic stripes. The matching, mirror-image stripe pattern on both sides of a mid-ocean ridge shows that new seafloor forms at the ridge and spreads outward, so C is correct.
AI-written and checked against the verified answer.