Which of the following is the driving force for the movement of the lithospheric plates? ...

heat from the sun.

unequal distribution of heat in the oceans.

heat in the atmosphere.

unequal distribution of heat within Earth.

D is the best answer. Lithospheric plates move because of convection currents underneath the Earth's crust. These currents are thought to dissipate heat and give the impetus for the plates to move. However, there is also a competing theory that has emerged since the 1980s that contends that this heat dissipation model is less reliable than originally thought.