Continental Drift Test Review

Which statement does NOT summarize one of the lines of evidence used by Alfred Wegener to support his theory of continental drift?

• Glacial deposits indicate a different climatic condition.
• Similar fossils are found on widely separated continents.
• Similar geologic formations occur on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Bands of rock are older the farther their position from a mid-ocean ridge.

This is a picture of glacial scars found in Africa.  What are these evidence for?

• Africa has always been near the equator.
• Africa was once in an area of the Earth that had a very cold climate.
• The continents have not moved.
• sea floor spreading

Which of the following best explains the difference between continental drift and plate tectonics?

• Continental drift describes the motion of Earth's continents only; plate tectonics describes the motion of the crust beneath Earth's oceans as well.
• Continental drift is supported only by observations of similar coastlines and geologic features on opposite sides of an ocean; plate tectonics is supported by a wide range of fossil evidence as well.
•  Plate tectonics was Wegener's theory that Earth's continents rest on sections of Earth's crust that drift together and apart over time; continental drift is a hypothesis describing how plate tectonics might happen.
• Continental drift was Wegener's hypothesis that Earth's continents were once part of a supercontinent that has since broken apart; plate tectonics is the theory that explains HOW continental drift happens.

How does fossil evidence support Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift?

• Similar fossils are found along continental margins that appear to join together.
• Fossils are found in areas where the present-day climate could not have supported the organisms that made the fossils.
• Similar fossils of giant, land-dwelling dinosaurs are found on continents separated by oceans.
• all of the above

Which of these does NOT provide evidence for the theory of continental drift?

• megladon fossils high in the mountains
• matching rocks and mountain belts in continents that are now separated
• mesosaurus fossils on widely separated continents
• glossopteris fossils in Antarctica

Which evidence supports Wegener's continental drift hypothesis?

•  similar fossils found on opposite sides of an ocean
• meteorite impact craters in continental crust
• the buildup of sediment along continental margins
• all of the above

What does the theory of continental drift state?

• The continents were once joined in a super-continent and have moved over time.
• Continents are stationary and do not move.
• The Earth is broken into lithospheric plates that move due to convection currents.
• none of the above

What is this a picture of?

• plate tectonics
• continental drift
• Pangaea
• glacial scarring

According to Wegener's continental drift hypothesis, the continents were once part of a supercontinent called

• Antares
• Europa
• Mons
• Pangaea

Which statement best compares the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift?

• Plate tectonics and continental drift are two names for the same theory.
•  Plate tectonics proposes that the continents move; continental drift proposes the mechanism for how the continents move.
• Continental drift proposes that the continents move; plate tectonics proposes the mechanism for HOW the continents move.
• Continental drift proposes that the continents move; plate tectonics proposes that the continents are stationary.