National Geographic Colliding Continents

_____ years ago, the Earth is created from left over debris from the Sun's formation.

• 2 billion

• 4.6 billion

• 4.6 million

• 1 million

The heaviest elements, including _______ and ______ sink in the early molten Earth to form the inner core.  (pick two)

• granite

• Nickel

• silicon

• lead

The lighter elements, including ________ and silicon rise towards the surface and erupt in volcanoes as molten rock.

• iron

• nickel

• oxygen

• lead

Some scientists believe that water from meteors and asteroids created the first _________.

• mountains

• lakes

• ponds

• oceans

What type of rock formed the first continents?

• quartz

• granite in zircon

• basalt

• marble

Why is granite less dense than other rock in the mantle?

• made of lighter minerals

• made of heavier minerals

The 'giant jigsaw puzzle' of interlocking pieces that make up Earth's crust are called what?

• tectonic plates

• mesosphere

• continents

• asthenosphere

The tectonic plates sit on what layer of Earth?

• outer core

• mantle

• inner core

Evidence for the theory of continental drift was first proposed in 1912 by what German scientist?

• Alfred Wegener

• Bill Nye

• Neil deGrasse Tyson

• Harry Hess

When Wegener first proposed his theory of continental drift, why did the scientific community reject his ideas?

• They thought he made it up

• He couldn't explain how they moved