Understanding Pangea and Plate Tectonics

What was Pangea?

• A type of dinosaur

• A large ocean

• A supercontinent

• A mountain range

Approximately how long ago did Pangea exist?

• 280 thousand years ago

• 280 million years ago

• 28 million years ago

• 2.8 billion years ago

What is the Earth's crust made up of?

• One solid piece

• Several different sections called plates

• Liquid magma

• Only water

How fast do the Earth's plates move?

• Very quickly

• At the speed of a car

• About the same speed as fingernails grow

• They don't move at all

What does the word "Pangea" mean in Greek?

• Ancient land

• All lands

• Moving land

• Giant land

What was the name of the single large ocean that surrounded Pangea?

• Atlantic Ocean

• Pacific Ocean

• Panthalassa

• Permian Sea

What scientific process explains how Pangea formed and broke apart?

• Erosion

• Weathering

• Plate tectonics

• Volcanic activity

When Pangea first split, it divided into two smaller landmasses. What were they called?

• Eurasia and Africa

• North America and South America

• Laurasia and Gondwana

• Asia and Australia

Which of the following continents was NOT part of Gondwana?

• South America

• Africa

• Europe

• Antarctica

How do scientists know about Pangea?

• They found old maps

• They studied ancient texts

• They found similar rocks and fossils on different continents

• They used satellite images