CONTINENTAL DRIFT AND PLATE TECTONICS

Alfred Wegener is best known for what hypothesis?

• seafloor spreading

• plate tectonics

• continental drift

• subduction

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NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

Which scientist was credited with first seriously proposing that all continents were joined together as a single landmass?

• Harry Hess

• Alfred Wegener

• Charles Darwin

• Albert Einstein

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NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

What is the name of the ancient supercontinent that broke apart about 200 million years ago?

• Gondwana

• Eurasia

• Pangaea

• Panthalassa

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Fossils of the Mesosaurus, a prehistoric freshwater animal, have been found on the continents of South America and Africa. The distribution of these fossils suggest that these areas were once…

• made of similar chemical elements

• covered by oceanic crust

• connected to one another

• frozen

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

If the continents were once joined together, rocks and mountain ranges on the margins of each…

• should have similar chemical properties.

• should have formed at the same time.

• should have formed under the same conditions.

• all of the above

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

What was the principal reason why Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift was rejected?

• He could only provide the evidence that the coastlines of continents appeared to fit together.

• He could only provide fossil evidence from marine species.

• He’s hypothesis lacked evidence of glacial striations on connecting continents.

• His hypothesis lacked a geological mechanism to explain how the continents drifted apart.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

What does the word Pangaea mean in Latin?

• all land

• all coastlines

• all planets

• seven continents

Which of the following is NOT evidence of continental drift?

• a. a land bridge once connected different continents

• b. similar rock types on different continents

• c. similar fossils on different continents

• d. similar glacial striations and till on different continents

Which scientist first backed up the hypothesis of continental drift with evidence, but was unable to prove his hypothesis because he could not identify the mechanism behind the drifting of continents?

• Harry Hess

• Alfred Wegner

• Marie Tharp

• Alfred Einstein

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NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

Approximately when did the supercontinent Pangaea begin to break apart?

• about 450,000 years ago

• about 200 billion years ago

• about 4.5 million years ago

• about 200 million years ago

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

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