Continental Drift Quiz

More than 400 years ago, what did early explorers bring back that contributed to the study of continental drift?

• Samples of ocean water

• Information about new continents and their coastlines

• Stories of sea monsters

• Ancient artifacts from different lands

What did mapmakers create that helped in the study of continental drift?

• The first reliable world maps

• Detailed drawings of sea creatures

• Fictional stories about distant lands

• Navigation tools for sailors

What observation did people make when they studied the first reliable world maps?

• The continents were moving at a rapid pace

• The shorelines on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean looked similar

• The maps were inaccurate and misleading

• The Earth was larger than previously thought

What was the name of the supercontinent that Alfred Wegener hypothesized existed?

• Gondwanaland

• Pangea

• Laurasia

• Euramerica

According to Wegener's hypothesis, how many years ago did the supercontinent begin breaking up into smaller continents?

• 100 million years ago

• 200 million years ago

• 250 million years ago

• 300 million years ago

What is the process called that Wegener proposed to explain the movement of continents to their present locations?

• Plate subduction

• Continental drift

• Seafloor spreading

• Tectonic shift

What evidence did Wegener find to support his hypothesis about the continents once being joined?

• Identical fossils of Mesosaurus in South America and eastern Africa

• Identical fossils of Mesosaurus in North America and western Europe

• Identical fossils of dinosaurs in Asia and South America

• Identical plant fossils in Australia and Antarctica

Why did Wegener conclude that Mesosaurus could not have swum across the Atlantic Ocean or walked between the continents?

• Because Mesosaurus was a land reptile and there were no land bridges

• Because Mesosaurus was an aquatic reptile and the ocean was too wide

• Because Mesosaurus was too small to travel long distances

• Because the Atlantic Ocean did not exist 270 million years ago

How long ago did Mesosaurus live, according to Wegener?

• 200 million years ago

• 270 million years ago

• 300 million years ago

• 350 million years ago

What type of geologic evidence supported Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift?

• The distribution of fossils across continents

• The ages and types of rocks in coastal regions of far apart areas closely matched

• The climate patterns of ancient times

• The magnetic properties of rocks on different continents