Unit 6: Continental Drift Quiz

Which of the following is TRUE about continental drift?

• Continental Drift is the gradual movement of the continents across the earth's surface through geological time
• It was discovered by Alfred Wegener
• Plates move because of convection currents occurring in the asthenosphere.
• All of the above.

Label the parts of the Earth for both the Mechanical layers and the Compositional layers.

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Mantle

Asthenosphere

Mesosphere

Outer core

Crust

Lithosphere

Inner core

Core

Why was Alfred Wegener's theory rejected at first by the scientific community?

• He had no evidence to support his theory
• He had no way of explaining how the continents moved
• He had not made any scientific breakthroughs so he was not respected among his peers
• Trick question- The scientific community was excited about his ideas of continental drift right away

Earth's tectonic plates are part of which mechanical layer?

• Lithosphere
• Ashthenosphere
• Mesosphere
• Core

What kind of heat transfer drives the movement of plates?

Which of the following would not be direct evidence that continental drift occurred in the distant past?

• Ancient fossils from distant continents are identical
• Volcanoes are located a a plate boundary in South America.
• The shapes of the continents appear to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle
• Rocks and geological structures are identical, or very similar, on different continents

How were glaciers used as evidence to support continental drift?

• A. glaciers have melted and formed large bodies of water in regions all over the world
• B. glacial striations (scratches on rock left when large boulders are dragged beneath glaciers) were matched up
• C. The rock record indicates that all continents showed glaciation at one time.
• D. None of the Above
• E. Options B & C

The theory of continental drift named a key part of this idea Pangaea. What is Pangaea?

• A supercontinent that existed in Earth's distant past
• The hot spot which gave rise to the Hawaiian Islands, among others
• One of the ancient animals that helped Wegener prove that fossils from different continents originally came from the same location
• The underwater ocean range in the middle of the ocean

How were rocks used to help support continental drift?

• The same type of igneous rock was discovered on each continent
• The same rock layers were organized in the same sequence on all continents
• Rocks were not used in supporting continental drift

What is paleomagnetism?

• the study of fossils
• the study of earth's magnetic field reversals as measured on the ocean floor.
• the study of plate tectonics
• The study of earthquakes