What was Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift? What evidence did he have to support his
theory? Why was his theory originally rejected? What will be an ideal response?
Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift was proposed in 1912. This theory maintained that all the continents were once connected into a single continent. Wegener called this large continent Pangaea and the surrounding ocean Panthalassa. He thought that Pangaea began to break into continents about 200 million years ago. Wegener used the shape of the continents from the north and south Atlantic to show how the continents would have fit together. There was also an alignment of mountain ranges of similar age, composition, and structure on different continents. Sir Ernest Shackleton discovered coal in Antarctica which meant that at some point there were tropical plants where it is now freezing. This added to Wegener's evidence of continental drift. There were similar fossils found on different continents. Wegener proposed that the continents moved due to a combination of the centrifugal effect of being slung towards the equator and tidal drag. Wegner lost credibility among scientists by selecting only the data that would support his theory and ignoring contrary data. There were holes in his theory, including a lack of evidence on the floor of the ocean that continents had moved.
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A habitat that is isolated by roads, agriculture, or urban development is called a ____________________.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
A form of kinetic energy that travels in the form of waves as a result of changes in electrical and magnetic fields is
a. Wind b. electromagnetic radiation c. Waterfalls d. Electricity e. solar radiation
Storms leaving the east side of the Icelandic Low and Azores High will be steered to the
A) northeast if mainly under the influence of the Icelandic Low. B) northeast if mainly under the influence of the Azores High. C) southeast if mainly under the influence of the Icelandic Low. D) southwest if mainly under the influence of the Azores High.
Which of the following is NOT a subatomic particle found in the nucleus of atoms?
A. Neutron B. Electron C. Photon D. Proton