The theories of continental drift and plate tectonics rely on many pieces of physical evidence. Identify and explain three observations that led to the acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics.?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER: Possible answers taken from the text include that:
- the coastlines of South America and Africa have similar shapes, implying that these landmasses were once joined, then moved apart
- ancient rocks, fossils, and the shape of mountain ranges are similar at places where the current continents were once connected in a supercontinent
- evidence of ancient glacial processes implies that the same glaciers moved through areas on several different continents, implying that they were once joined
- fossils of species from warm climates have been found in the Arctic and Antarctic, implying that the fossils were created when the land was in a warm climate zone, but that the land has since moved to a cold climate zone
- the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a center for numerous earthquakes and implies that the ridge could result from the spreading of the seafloor away from a central area
- magnetic effects detectable in rocks around the Mid-Atlantic Ridge prove that the ridge is created by slowly emerging basalt which moves away from a divergent zone
?