In a civil court case, the plaintiff is the person who

the earth’s crust is broken into separate pieces called tectonic plates (fig. 7.14). recall that the crust is the solid, rocky, outer shell of the planet. it is composed of two distinctly different types of material: the less-dense continental crust and the more-dense oceanic crust. both types of crust rest atop solid, upper mantle material. the upper mantle, in turn, floats on a denser layer of lower mantle that is much like thick molten tar.

each tectonic plate is free-floating and can move independently. earthquakes and volcanoes are the direct result of the movement of tectonic plates at fault lines. the term fault is used to describe the boundary between tectonic plates. most of the earthquakes and volcanoes around the pacific ocean basin—a pattern known as the “ring of fire”—are due to the movement of tectonic plates in this region. other observable results of short-term plate movement include the gradual widening of the great rift lakes in eastern africa and the rising of the himalayan mountain range. the motion of plates can be described in four general patterns:

collision: when two continental plates are shoved together

subduction: when one plate plunges beneath another (fig. 7.15)

spreading: when two plates are pushed apart (fig. 7.15)

transform faulting: when two plates slide past each other (fig. 7.15)

for many centuries there were important factors which the economies of the muslim empires developed increasingly. they applied economic procedures in production, investment, finance, taxation and property. they used to tax certain goods (for example: harvest), they charged interest on money lent, they signed contracts with merchants; they relied on a common currency, and they used checks as well as promissory notes. with the money collected by means of taxation, the government provided the needy with an income. in addition, trading networks covered huge distances, so far regions started to have contact and exchange goods. this trade network covered areas of asia, africa and europe.