Remains of mesosaurus are limited to eastern south america and southern africa. Fill out the information on the cover page of both the exam questions and answer sheet. This concept was an important precursor to the development of the theory of plate tectonics, which incorporates it. Dec 19, 2017 continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on earths surface. What are six things that supported wegeners theory of continental drift. How wegeners continental drift evidence matches up with evidence for plate tectonics. Are evidence for continental drift includes several fossil organisms found on different landmasses critics had about wegeners continental drift hypothesis. Continental drift qfiles the online library of knowledge.
In this lesson, students learn about the evidence for continental drift and about the process of science. Mesosaurus small fresh water reptile glossopteris plant remains. Over hundreds of millions of years, the continents have drifted around the globe, while the. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in. Although the evidence for continental drift was extremely strong, scientists rejected the idea because no mechanism for how solid continents could move around on the.
The continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by alfred wegener. If you have any difficulty with the readability of these documents, please contact the. There are various examples of fossils found on separate continents and in no other regions. Evidence of continental as a meteorologist alfred wegener was well aware of some climatological puzzles, such as the remains of temperate climate trees that can be found under polar ice. Pdf styles of thought on the continental drift debate. Glacial deposits in africa and south america suggest that those continents. Evidence for continental drift university of california. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in the legend and color the areas on the landmasses.
Earths crust is divided into two major layers, the lithosphere at the top and the asthenosphere right. While wegener was alive, scientists did not believe that the continents could move. The speculation that continents might have drifted was first put forward by abraham ortelius in 1596. The land mass broke apart, and the continents drifted to their present positions.
The continental drift hypothesiscontinents have moved slowly to their current locations. This activity attempts to explore how changes in the model, and the evidence available, led. Continental drift is the theory that the earths continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have drifted across the ocean bed. Effects of continental change modern climates are a result of past movements of tectonic plates. Continental drift and plate tectonics university of iceland. First he dated the earth by using uranium radioactive decay to lead which incidentally supported continental drift and second he showed where the earths heat came from radioactive decay. Are evidence for continental drift includes several fossil organisms found on different landmasses.
Continental drift a brief history of continental drift theories continued 1944 arthur holmes suggests a mechanism for continental drift based on convection currents in the earths mantle. Cut out each of the continental land masses along the edge of the continental shelf the outer line. They are carried by immense forces generated by convection currents in the liquid rock in the mantle of the planet. The earths continents have not always been where they are at present. Continental drift, largescale horizontal movements of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. The science behind the drift alfred wegeners theory of continental drift was extremely controversial.
Apr 09, 2016 this feature is not available right now. This is called continental drift, part of the process known as plate tectonics. Theory of continental drift early 1500s explorers noticed the fit between africa and south america 1912 alfred wegener the idea that the continents used to form a super continent called pangea the continents then slowly drifted apart over time to their current locations used fossil evidence as well as the fact that the continents looked like puzzle pieces. Scientists can observe these movements using satellite images that show, for example, that the north. When continents move, the flow of air and moisture around the globe changes and causes climates to change. Evaluationdecision point assessment student outcomes describe a plate and at least 2 points of evidence for plate movementcontinental drift. Wegener could not propose a mechanism capable of moving the continents. Alfred was trying to get his girlfriends father to like him. The theory of continental drift resurfaced with powerful new evidence, but still lacked a convincing explanation for how it was responsible for changing earths surface. Wegeners theory was rejected by scientists because he could. The widespread distribution of certain plant groups correlates rather nicely with plate tectonics. Continental drift plates in the crust of the earth, according to the plate tectonics theory from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia continental drift is the movement of the earths continents relative to each other.
Wegener 18801930 continental drift was wegeners theory that all continents had once been joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart since. For example, there are three families of cycads, the cycadaceae, stangeriaceae and zamiaceae, which include a total of 185 species in 11 genera. Theory of continental drift early 1500s explorers noticed the fit between africa and south america 1912 alfred wegener the idea that the continents used to form a super continent called pangea the continents then slowly drifted apart over time to their current locations used fossil evidence as well as the fact that the. Wegeners continental drift meets wilsons plate tectonics. The theory of continental drift continental drift discovery the world alfred wegener theory of continental drift continental drift p95 red book, 182 in sciencesaurus theory that continents were once part of a single landmass that broke apart and have moved to their present locations. There are multiple lines of evidence for changes in the position of the continents over geologic time. Additional evidence of continental drift are ancient chains of mountains and rock formations that appear on the continents of north america and greenlandeurope, making it appear that they were once connected. Potential evidence for the theory of continental drift description quality interpretation by 1900 and as early as 1596, several scientists had noted that the coastlines of continents on the two sides of the atlantic ocean basin appeared to fit together, most notably africa and south america. First he dated the earth by using uranium radioactive decay to lead which incidentally supported continental drift and second he showed where. Explain how fossil distribution supports the theory of continental drift. This indicates that these continents had to be once joined together because the extensive oceans between these land masses act as a type of barrier for fossil.
Theory of continental drift the continental drift hypothesis was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by alfred wegener. Continental drift, largescale horizontal movement of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. Evidence to support the theory fossils of tropical plants found on an island in the arctic ocean are evidence for the theory of continental drift. Jan 28, 2014 this feature is not available right now. How do the continental coastlines support the theory of continental drift pangaea theory. Alfred wegener and continental drift it was not until 1912 that the idea of moving continents was seriously considered as a fullblown scientific theory called continental drift introduced in two articles published by a 32yearold german meteorologist named alfred lothar wegener alfred lothar wegener 18801930 earned a. From this he began plotting worldwide distributions of both rock and. Pieces of the continents fit together like pieces of a puzzle. You will be piecing together a puzzle of the supercontinent pangea based on fossil and rock evidence on the present day continents. Heat coming from the interior of the earth triggers this movement to occur through convection currents inside the mantle.
If you look at a map of the world, you might notice what alfred wegener noticed that the continents look as if they could fit together like a big jigsaw puzzle if you were able to move them around. Alfred wegener was the developer of a new theory of the earths surface called continental drift, and he was an adept investigator, but he passed away in 1930 with his theories generally dismissed. Set forth in 1912 by alfred wegener, a geophysicist and meteorologist, continental drift also. I use the cards during my middle school earth unit to play go drift a continental drift version of go f. Most scientists simply refused to accept the idea of continents floating around on earths surface. Today, by measuring the submerged borders of the continental shelf rather than the coastline, and by using computers and the result in spherical.
Over the course of millions of year ago, this gradual. Earths crust is divided into two major layers, the lithosphere at the top and the asthenosphere right below it. From this he began plotting worldwide distributions of both rock and fossil data that indicated tropic, desert and polar climates. The rejection of continental drift uc press journals. Continental drift activity packet name instructions. The concept was independently and more fully developed by alfred wegener in 1912, but his theory was rejected by many for. How does coal distribution support the theory of continental drift. How do distinctive rock strata support the theory of continental drift. Wegener said that continents move around on earths surface and that they were once joined together as a single supercontinent. Ironically, the most compelling single piece of evidence, that of the eltanin profile, was collected by an institute with a strong tradition of opposition to continental drift. Answers that ask you to explain or describe, one or two sentences is enough.
This card set contains common vocabulary and evidence about the theory of continental drift and alfred wegener. Theory of continental was purposed by alferedwegner in 1912 3. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in the legend and color the areas on the landmasses according to the legend. Critics had about wegeners continental drift hypothesis. Evidence for the mechanism of continental drift video. A glance at a world map shows that it looks like the americas and the old world once fitted together. Continental drift wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. He tried to explain how the earth drifted apart, but he was unable to give a. He had previously worked out two critical problems. High school earth sciencecontinental drift wikibooks, open.
Geologic evidence shows that ice once covered most of earths continental surfaces. Theory of continental drift go drift card game by miss middle school teacher. According to the hypothesis of continental drift, continents have moved slowly to their current locations. The earths outer shell is composed of plates that move a little bit every year. Pdf a historical account of how continental drift and plate tectonics. Fossils certain fossils preserved in rocks of the same age but from different continents. Continental drift theory no need to take notes i have taken them for you 2. Instead, they believed that repeating cycles of heating and cooling caused the. The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents. When continental drift was first proposed, the arguments rested on four key pieces of evidence. Therefore, rationalist approaches suggest that evidence can be enough by itself to close scientific controversies. Although the evidence was extremely strong, scientists could not think of a mechanism that could drive solid continents to move around on the solid earth and most. A teaching companion wegeners puzzling continental drift evidence u.
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