DOL - 12/3 - Continental Drift Wegner

Front

What is Pangaea?

Back

A supercontinent that existed in Earth's distant past.

Front

Where did Wegener find plant fossils that today would not survive?

Back

Antarctica.

Front

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

Back

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, and similar fossils of giant, land-dwelling dinosaurs are found on continents separated by oceans.

Front

Why was Wegener's hypothesis not accepted?

Back

He could not explain what force was moving the continents.

Front

What do glacier scars in Africa indicate?

Back

Africa was once in an area of the Earth that had a very cold climate.

Front

What is continental drift?

Back

The theory that continents have moved over geological time and were once joined together.

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Who proposed the theory of continental drift?

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Alfred Wegener.

Front

What evidence did Wegener use to support his theory?

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Fossil evidence, geological similarities, and climatic evidence.

Front

What is the significance of the fossil Glossopteris?

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It provides evidence for continental drift as it was found on multiple continents that are now separated.

Front

What role do tectonic plates play in continental drift?

Back

Tectonic plates are large sections of the Earth's crust that move and can cause continents to drift.