continental drift

Question 1

Alfred Wegener

Answer 1

proposed the idea of continental drift in 1912

Question 2

how was continental drift proven

Answer 2

fossils were found across continents- so the animals were able to travel by foot from one to the other- so they were connected at some point

Question 3

pangea

Answer 3

in early geologic time, a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmass of earth
derived from Greek, meaning all the earth

Question 4

panthalassa

Answer 4

global ocean sea that surrounded Pangaea.

pan=all and greek thalassa=sea

Question 5

when was pangea fully assembled

Answer 5

Early Permian Period

299-272 million years ago

Question 6

when pangea began to break apart

Answer 6

200 million years ago
during early Jurassic period
eventually forming modern continents and oceans

Question 7

was this theory always upheld?

Answer 7

In spite of this data, the theory of continental drift died off in 1950s mainly because geophysicists could not find an adequate mechanism to move the rigid crust and mantle

Question 8

did Wegener propose that the drift happened all at once?

Answer 8

Yes, he proposed it as a one-time occurrence but the drift happened over a few times
at that time, they didn’t know about plates

Question 9

cathaysia

Answer 9

landmass comprising the former tectonic plates of North and South China
not incorporated into pangea
rather it formed a smaller, separtate continent within the global ocean panthalassa