Plate tectonics and continental drift

Front

What is the main idea Alfred Wegener proposed in the “Theory of Continental Drift” that he published in 1915?

Back

The continents were once a single landmass that drifted apart.

Front

What observation did Alfred Wegener make that led him to develop the theory of continental drift?

Back

Continents appear to have once fit together.

Front

How did Wegener explain rain-forest fossils that are now found in arid or cold regions of Earth?

Back

The land they are on was once closer to the equator.

Front

How was Alfred Wegeners’ theory accepted in his time?

Back

not at all, there was not a way to explain the moving continents.

Front

How does Earth’s geologic record support the continental drift theory?

Back

Glacial erosion patterns on different continents match up.

Front

How does the fossil record support the continental drift theory?

Back

Fossils of the same type are found on continents that were once together.

Front

How does continental drift explain the pattern of Mesosaurus fossils?

Back

South American and Africa were once part of the same continent.

Front

How did the discovery of sea-floor ridges affect the ability of the scientific community to accept Alfred Wegener’s ideas?

Back

The ridges helped to explain plate movement.

Front

What did the discovery of oceanic trenches help scientists understand?

Back

That the crust could be created and destroyed.

Front

What does the “striping” of the sea floor indicate about Earth?

Back

The magnetic pole has switched from north to south poles.