Alfred Wegener #2

Alfred Wegener was a:

• Geologist

• Astronomer

• Meteorologist

• Biologist

Wegener's idea for continental drift was new to geology because it proposed that continents:

• Were fixed in place

• Moved up and down relative to each other

• Moved horizontally across the surface of Earth

What is one reason why scientists rejected his idea of continental drift?

• He was not considered an expert because he studied weather and not about rocks and the Earth.

• He did not have any evidence to prove the continents were together in the past

• There were too many jealous scientists that did not want him to become famous. 

Besides rock evidence, briefly explain a piece of evidence Wegener may have provided (other than rocks themselves) that shows continents had moved in the past.

What happened when scientists rejected the evidence that he provided in his book?

• Wegener began investigating topics in his original study of meteorology (weather).

• Wegener went to science conventions and argued his point of view with those scientists that disagreed with him.

• Wegener went back and continued to revise his book to make his argument stronger. 

Scientists initially rejected Wegener's theory because he could not explain how the continents moved AND because he was using evidence from different fields of science that he was NOT an expert in.  

Today, however, scientists recognize the fact that gathering evidence from different fields of science makes him a good scientist.  WHY?