Which statement accurately describes how magnetic stripes in ocean rock provide evidence of seafloor spreading?

As lava cools at a mid-ocean ridge, iron-bearing minerals align with Earth’s magnetic field and preserve its direction. Because Earth’s magnetic field has reversed many times, the seafloor records alternating magnetic stripes. Matching stripes on both sides of a ridge show that new crust forms there and moves outward, so the seafloor is expanding.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.