Drifting Continents Flashcards
What was Wegener’s hypothesis?
All the continents had once been joined together to form a singular continent and have since drifted apart into their current locations (there are 7 continents).
What happened in 1910?
A young German scientist named Alfred Wegener formed a hypothesis about how Earth’s continents came to be.
What is Pangea?
The single landmass the continents once formed.
What did Wegener use as evidence to back up his theory?
Evidence from land forms, fossils, and climate.
What pieces of evidence did Wegener gather from landforms?
Mountain ranges and coal fields.
What is a fossil?
Any trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in a rock.
What are continental glaciers?
Thick layers of ice that cover hundreds of thousands of square kilometers.
What did Wegener’s idea become known as?
Continental Drift.
Why did scientists reject Wegener’s idea?
He could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the force that pushes or pulls the continents.
What did scientists in the 1900s think the Earth was doing?
Cooling and shrinking.
