Plate Tectonics Flashcards
T or F
Before the continental drift theory emerged, most geologists believed that ocean basins and continents are stationary and is fixed in position.
T
T or F
The proposal for the continental drift hypothesis began early in the 19th century but has been rejected by the scientific community for 40 years.
F, it is hypothesized in the 20th century, and was rejected for 50 years.
What was the theory that was developed in 1968 that lead to the unfolding of more encompassing explanations.
Theory of Plate Tectonics
Who proposed the continental drift hypothesis, and when?
Alfred Wegener, 1915.
a German meteorologist and geophysicist, who proposed the continental drift hypothesis.
Alfred Wegener
What is the title of the book that Wegener wrote?
The Origin of Continents and Oceans
This hypothesis suggested that a single supercontinent consisting of all Earth’s landmasses once existed.
The Continental Drift Hypothesis
The name of the giant landmass in the continental drift hypothesis.
Pangaea
T or F
Wegener was the first person to conceive of a long-vanished supercontinent.
F, it was Edward Suess.
A distinguished 19th-century geologist, pieced together evidence for a giant landmass consisting of the continents of South America, Africa, India, and Australia.
Edward Suess
T or F
Before Wegener’s hypothesis, Suess already established the similarities between Late Plaeozoic plant fossils of India, Australia, south Africa, and South America, as well as the evidence of glaciation in the rock sequence of the respective continents.
T
What is the title of the book that Edward Suess wrote, and when was the book published?
The Face of the Earth, 1885.
According to Suess’ book, what is the proposed name of the supercontinent composed of the aforementioned southern continents.
Gonwanaland or Gondwana
The American geologist __________ _____________ published a pamphlet in _________ presenting his own theory of continental drift.
Frank Taylor, 1910.
He explained the formation of mountain ranges as a result of the lateral movement of continents. He also envisioned the present-day continents as parts of larger polar continents that eventually broke apart and migrated toward the equator after Earth’s rotation was supposedly slowed by gigantic tidal forces
Frank Taylor
T or F
According to Taylor, such tidal forces were generated when the earth captured the moon approximately 100 million years old.
T
T or F
Taylor’s mechanism regarding the tidal forces is correct.
F, it is incorrect.
He suggested that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge might mark the site along where ancient continents broke apart to form the present day Atlantic Ocean.
Frank Taylor
When was the Mid-Atlantic Ridge discovered and who discovered it?
1872-1876, by the British HMS Challenger expeditions.
Which evidence of the continental drift stated that there are remarkable similarity between the coastlines on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Continental Jigsaw Puzzle
Scientists later determined that a much better approximation of the outer boundary of a continent is the seaward edge of its ___________ _________, which lies submerged a few hundred meters below sea level.
Continental Shelf
T or F
Sir Edward Bullard and two associates constructed a map that pieced together the edges of the continental shelves of South America and Africa at a depth of about 900 meters. The remarkable fit that was obtained was more precise than even these researchers had expected. There are a few places where the continents overlap.
T
The overlaps between the continental margins are caused by what factors?
Stretching and Thinning, and Major River Systems.
Through a review of the literature, Wegener learned that most paleontologists (scientists who study the fossilized remains of ancient organisms) were in agreement that some type of land connection was needed to explain the existence of similar Mesozoic age life forms on widely separated landmasses.
Which evidence does the statement pertain to?
Fossils Match Across the Seas
