3.2 Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics

Who was the first scientist to propose that the continents of Earth were at one time connected?

• Alfred Wegener
• Henry Hess

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

The Continental Drift Hypothesis states that "The continents were once joined into a single landmass called ________________ that broke apart with the various fragments moving with respect to one another to their current positions".

• Pangaea
• Gondwana
• Panthalessa

New ocean floor is created at what kind of geologic feature?

• Mid-ocean ridge
• Deep ocean trench
• Strike-slip faults

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Old ocean floor is destroyed at what kind of geologic feature?

• Mid-ocean ridge
• Deep ocean trench
• Strike-slip faults

Which is NOT a piece of evidence Wegener used to form the continental drift hypothesis?

• Plant fossils
• Puzzle-like fit of coastlines
• Salt concentration in ice

Earth's tectonic plates are floating on water and slowly drifting.

• True
• False

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Evidence indicates that all the continents were once joined as a supercontinent known as:

• Gondwana
• Laurasia
• Pangaea

Which layer of Earth are the tectonic plates made of?

• asthenosphere
• lithosphere
• mesosphere

The process by which the ocean floor sinks beneath a deep ocean trench and back into the mantle is known as

• folding
• radiation
• subduction

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

There are mountain belts that divide the sea floor and generate new sea floor as magma rises and erupts onto Earth's surface. What are these mountain belts known as?

• fault-block mountains
• mid-ocean ridges
• ocean trenches

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2