BM#2 Review: Earth Science

1. A lack of explanation for continental drift prevented many scientists from accepting that a single supercontinent called ______ once existed.

• Glamar
• Glossopteris
• Pangaea
• Wegener

2. Why did scientist not believe Wegener's idea for continental drift?

• He could not explain how the continents move.
• He didn't have evidence.
• His data was too old.
• He didn't use the right technology to gather data.

3. Which of the following represents the meaning of the term Pangaea?

• Big piece of land
• All Earth
• Large continents
• Giant plates

4. The continents move very slowly only a few ___________ per year.

• feet
• meters
• miles
• centimeters

5. Who is the German Scientist that came up with the theory of the Continental Drift?

• Albert Einstein
• Hermann Hess
• Galileo
• Alfred Wegener

6. Matching ______________________ on different continent are evidence for continental drift.

• river systems
• rock structures
• weather patterns
• wind systems

7. To support his continental drift theory, Alfred Wegener studied fossils found on different continents. He discovered the Mesosaurus fossils (a freshwater reptile from the Permian period) provided good evidence that supported his ideas. How do Mesosaurus fossils support the continental drift/plate tectonics theory?

• Fossils of Mesosaurs are only located along active geological fault lines at convergent boundaries in subduction zones. This solid evidence for plat tectonics
• These organisms may have been extinguished during the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction that is estimated to have wiped out approximately 96% of life on Earth
• Mesosaur fossils are found in South America and Africa. As a freshwater organism, it is highly unlikely that these reptiles could swim across the vast Atlantic Ocean.
• Mesosaurs were slender carnivorous reptiles that thrived in the Permian Period, and they are related to modern turtles and tortoises.

8. Glossopteris (a fern fossil) grew in warm, swampy areas, proving Antarctica used to have a __________ climate.

• warm and wet
• hot and dry
• cold and icy
• artic

9. Which fossil provides evidence that ALL the Southern Continents were once connected?

• Cynognathus
• Mesosaurus
• Glossopteris
• Lystrosaurus

11. Which of the following continents look like they fit together like puzzle pieces?

• A. Antarctica and Europe
• B. Africa and North America
• C. Africa and South America
• D. North America and South America